What She Left Behind
by tashie1010
Summary: Abducted & experimented on, Charlie is rescued by the newly commissioned USS Enterprise-A and its endearing Crew. But she's about to discover that the experiments were just the beginning. The enemy have plans for Hybrid DNA and won't let Starfleet, or anyone else, interfere. Coming to terms with this new reality won't be easy, thankfully there is a charming Doctor on board.
1. Arrival

**Well, this is my first Star Trek Fanfic, I hope I have done it justice. I do not own any of the fantastic Star Trek characters, just my own OC. I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

She regretted getting that cheap and spontaneous tattoo, the needles sting had clung to her for days afterwards. She also regretted not going for a drink with that sweet, but somewhat timid, guy from that dating app on her phone. She really regretted not patching things up with her brother, the estrangement from their mother weighing heavily on their own relationship.

Charlie regretted a few other things in her life, but naively leaving her vehicle that night was top of her list. She knew the level of stupid it had been and yet she had done it anyway. Because who honestly would have guessed that this would have been the outcome?

Glancing around the dim room, Charlie had raked her eyes over every portion of the room available for her to see as she laid strapped down on some sort of metal bed, her position currently upright at an angle as if she were simply in a Hospital. She was thankful that she remained in her own clothes, the thought of those disfigured beings undressing her caused an embarrassed primal urge to keep herself hidden. Unfortunately for her, Charlie's hands and feet were bound by metal, keeping her mostly immobile.

Bright lights flood the room as a door beyond her vision opens, the whooshing sound accompanies a set of footsteps. Panic and fear rise sickeningly in Charlie's chest as she twists and turns her body, to see a horrifyingly familiar face brought into her peripheral, its brow ceased in what Charlie could vaguely describe as concern. Her memory of the encounter with the figure standing over her looms in Charlie's mind, the hazy recollection of the not-quite-human man causes her to pull at her restraints, the raised ridges on the grey skinned being reminding her from a Sci Fi show she had watched as a young child.

"Remain calm." He tells her, his voice deep and authoritative, as he pulls a nearby trolley over to Charlie's side. She notices that he appears to be wearing a dark blue coat, somewhat resembling what doctors wore. But the rattling noise of metal instruments divided her attention, sending a cold shiver up her spine and her heart raced as she attempts to crane her neck to get a better look, not sure if she would like what she sees.

"Let me go, let me out of this place, just let me go." Charlie babbles to her captor, her words a jumble of fear and confusion. What the hell was happening, where was she? Was this an alien in front of her, with its stone coloured skin and elevated creases? Part of her wishes this was all some horrific nightmare, one of those ones that make you wake up drenched in sweat. But Charlie had known since waking up in that dreadful place that this was no dream. A living nightmare was a more adept name to call the situation.

The man (or not-Human man as it appeared to her) reaches for something from the tray beside her, panic swiftly floods Charlie once again as she witnesses him picking up a large syringe filled with some sort of amber liquid. She pulls harder at the restraints, determined to avoid whatever fate had in store for her. Charlie's back arches of the bed as she tries to pull one of her hands away but the motion only causes pain to shoot up her wrists. The man, or alien or whatever this hell he was, grabs Charlie's shoulder in retaliation of her desperate attempts to remove herself from her bindings. His grip is painfully firm, pinning her shoulder in place as she laid upright on the bed, and he glances at the syringe full of liquid, pausing momentarily as if unsure. Charlie takes the paused moment to beg, bargain or make any request in this absolutely crazy situation. But before she could speak, the syringe is plunged deep into her right shoulder, and she could not help the gasp that evolves into a hiss in response. This was not helping her mild fear of needles, whatsoever.

As he empties the syringe into her pricked flesh, he appears to grunt in satisfaction as he pulls the needle out from Charlie's now aching shoulder. He then pats her head in what he probably deems a compassionate gesture but the patronising action fuels her with an unsuspected rage. In a last attempt Charlie flexes her back off from the bed but immediately stops, a sudden intense pressure feeling as if a fire was spreading through her veins, causing her to cry out shamefully. He regards her from above, watching her gasp in shock and pain as she feels her nerves painfully react to whatever the hell was in that syringe.

Charlie's body flexes on its own accord against the restraints, desperate to end the intense pain working its way through her muscles, twitching and spasming involuntarily. Her gasped cries echo in the bleak room, the feeling of her skin on fire needing release but she was unable to have any. She could barely move, pinned down through this traumatising pain currently coursing through her body. As a fraction on the pain begins to lessen, Charlie finds herself slick with sweat, feeling it matt the back of her head as she thrashes weakly. Her breathing is ragged and her chest burns as her heart rate eventually slows down to somewhat of a normal heart rate. All throughout this reaction, the inhuman man regards Charlie with a renewed interest, its eyes having watched the effects of the torture her body had just been put through.

"Please…." Charlie is able to say, her voice barely a whisper and her mouth suddenly so dry, "Stop." She had never thought she would have had to beg for her life but she knew that dying was definitely a realistic conclusion in this surreal situation. She tried to lick her dry and cracked lips, the ordeal making Charlie feel as though she had become severely dehydrated, heat still lingering in some parts of her body. Her chest hurt with such ferocity, Charlie couldn't stop herself from the meek spluttered coughs that attacked her body in the aftermath.

He looks at her again, dark hooded eyes glancing over the state of Charlie in a sense of morbid curiosity, as he reaches above her head and attempts to place what appears to be an oxygen mask over her mouth and nose. She reflexively moves her head in a fashion so that he is unable to place it securely over, dreading what fresh ordeal this grey ridged figure had in store. Unfortunately, with one hand he holds Charlie's head in restraint under her jaw, and with the other he is able to pull the mask securely over her face, the cool apparatus uncomfortable on her face. She hears a switch flipped somewhere and the hiss of a gas as it enters the mouthpiece. She is barely able to react to this turn of events, fighting her eyelids threatening to close. She loses, defenceless and sore, succumbing to unconsciousness.

* * *

 _The stars were shining brightly as Charlie ventured to her car, grateful to finally be leaving work. She stops, her hand on the car door handle and peers up at the sheer vastness above, the silent skies soothing her clouded mind from working the last 9 hours._

 _"Earth to Charlie, anyone there?" A voice broke through her thoughts and she looks over and see Paul, the Chief of Security, giving her a cheery wave as he laughs. "You alright there dear?" She smiles back at him, opening the door to her small hatchback."_

 _It's a beautiful night Paul, can't help but appreciate it!" And with that she gives him a goodbye wave, reversing out of the Office complex where she has been a Security Guard at for a little over a year now. The money was good and the social aspects of the job were low, Charlie's ideal career. The fact that she could work the graveyard shifts and leave before the Sun rises was a big perk for her._

 _As Charlie drives the desolate streets, the radio tuned into some obscure channel with cheesy 90's music, she is able to appreciate these small moments where it feels as though all of the world is asleep. The car's dashboard informs her that it is 03:47am as as she turns off the main roads and travel down a quieter lane, rolling black fields of grass meet a tree line and the sight of several figures standing a few meters from the trees urges her to slow down._

 _There were 4 silhouetted figures emerging from the trees, with several lights shining on the grounds around them. As her speed slows to an almost crawl, she pulls the vehicle to the side of the road and cuts the engine. Charlie was curious as to whether they were trespassers in the area, not that there was anything to steal in the nearby area, the nearest building a mile or so down the road. Perhaps they had lost something, or even someone? Against her better judgement she exits her car, the closing of the car door seeming to echo in the pre-dawn morning. The noise had made the figures glance over in her direction, although it was hard for Charlie to see any details of the figures._

 _"Are you guys okay out here? Do you need any help?" She asks, her voice sounding too timid as she approaches the figures. There was no response from them, however two turned to each other in a motion of conversing but she could not make out any words. One of the figures directs their light towards Charlie, dazzling her vision and abruptly stopping her in her step. As she lifts a hand to shield her eyes, a gnawing feeling in the pit of Charlie's stomach keeps her rooted to the spot._

 _"Hey, do you mind turning that light o-" The light is turned off with a distantly faint click and she attempts to gain her vision back, blue and white spots currently dancing across her eyes. She could suddenly hear the oncoming footsteps and she makes an involuntary step backwards, aware of her heart rate quickening in slight panic. Trying to blink away the dancing spots in her vision, Charlie holds both arms out in front of herself in what she hopes looks like a defensive stance. One of the figures stops as it stands before her, dressed in a dark hooded cloak and boots. They pull their hood down and Charlie wonders if her eyes were playing tricks on her, the skin on the figure appearing to be a dark shade of grey, some sort of raised ridges on their face and neck. She sucked in a breath as she takes in the sight before her, the figure wearing a stoney faced expression._

 _Charlie had taken another step back, mentally calculating the distance to her car as she turns on the spot but collides with another of the figures who had slipped behind her. This figure in front of her appears taller than the other and more menacing, especially as it grabs at her arm. Instinct kicks in as Charlie draws her elbow up to the strange figures face, a satisfying groan of pain emits from it as its hold on her loosens momentarily, and she was running._

 _Her feet pound through the grassy field as she gets closer to her car. Hands trembling, Charlie fumbles for her keys, breathing heavily as she approaches her vehicle but a reflection in the window catches her eye. The grey skinned figure stands behind her, a grimace on its face and Charlie's heart sinks as she feels a sharp sting in her neck, the reflection showing a small syringe being held by the disfigured man behind her. She gasps at the sensation as her legs begin to give way, attempting to hold onto the car to keep herself standing but Charlie is unable to grasp anything, her hands no longer functioning._

 _The world turns on its axis as she falls, her body hitting the ground with a painful thud. As Charlie lay on her stomach, she was able to see the other figures coming closer as her vision eventually goes black, her mind still reeling over the last few moments._

* * *

The next time Charlie wakes, her entire body aches with a fierceness she has never known, even that one time as a teenager she had defended herself from a rather tenacious bully, getting her swiftly caught up in a rather brutal fist fight. She notices that the mask on her face was still there, though there was no gas present for the time being. Charlie tries not to make any noise as she attempts to get her bearings in the room, the dark metal walls were bleak and empty, void of any clue as to who or what these things were. Part of her inside screams: Aliens. It is the only logical conclusion Charlie can come up with, and yet she cannot bring herself to voice that particular science fiction.

She wasn't supposed to be here, she should be home, safe and warm in her own bed. She was not even sure where she was, or how how long she had been here. The not-knowing was causing the large pit in her stomach to widen, subjecting Charlie to more concern and fear than she thought was possible.

A monitor beyond her vision emits a whining beep and she tries to lift her head to see what the meaning of the noise was, the door whooshing open before she could even turn her head to get a good look.

A different creature appears to storm into the room, their footsteps heavier as they approach Charlie on the makeshift hospital bed and she inhales a deep gasp through the mask currently situated on her face. The grey skinned being that had entered the room was the one Charlie had sunk her elbow into, if the patch of slightly darker grey bit of skin was anything to go by. She briefly wondered if that was their equivalent of a bruise.

"You appear to be reacting rather well." His voice intimidates Charlie, disdain clear in his authoritative tone and the glint in his eyes making her heart lurch inside of her sore chest. This one wore a dark green cloak, metal clasps pinning it in place on his shoulder, hiding any other evidence of themselves under the cloak. She wanted to speak, to say anything but she is unable to find her words. With her mouth drying instantly, she sees him reach to his side, bringing a syringe full of a familiar looking liquid into view. He gives Charlie a discerning look as he releases a spurt of liquid from the syringe. She involuntarily splays her hands, the nerve-wrecking pain already pushing through in her memory, causing her body to lock in terror.

"We may have to up the dosage for you this time," Charlie sees him smile eerily at her just before he pierces her neck with the sharp sting of the syringe. The next few minutes were a series of gasps and involuntary thrashes from Charlie due to the searing pain shooting from nerve to nerve inside of her, feeling as though she was losing any and all control over her body.

In all honesty, she was amazed she didn't pass out any sooner.

* * *

 _Soft words soothed her as her brothers arms cradled around her head._

 _"Shhh, it's okay." He whispered into her hair._

 _They sat huddled against the Bathroom door, her hands cover her ears but she is still able to hear the shouts coming from downstairs. At 12 years old, Charlie knew that it wasn't her Mother causing the scene a floor below her. It was the bottle of cheap Vodka she had managed to get from the nearby store. It brought out something hideous and ugly within Charlie's Mum._

 _The distant sound of a plate smashing jolts her awake from the melancholy flashback._

* * *

Groggy with barely-remembered memories, Charlie wakes to the same upsetting room as before. The same unwakeable nightmare, the same ache in her bones and crushing feeling within her chest. It felt like days were passing her by, visitations from these stoic and passive Aliens had blurred her ability to create a timeline for what was happening to her.

A twinge in Charlie's arm brought her attention to the new addition to the horror show currently befalling her; a tube had been inserted a few days ago, or hours; she really was not sure anymore. Her energy levels had depleted over the first few visits and series of injections from her captives, Charlie believed the mysterious figures were determined to prolong this agony by maintaining her Health. Of course, she did not know what was currently being pumped in her bloodstream, but she could positively say that it was a damn sight better than whatever was in those hideous syringes.

On another note, at one point in these visitations, two of the dusky coloured persons had ventured into her room at the same time. It had intrigued Charlie as this was a first for them, her curiosity had been cut short however, by the rapid insertion of needle into her left arm. Over the course of pain inducing tremors and spasms, Charlie grit her teeth, determined to ride it out in order to hear the conversation they appeared to be having in the midst of her agony. She could only pick out a few words in their hushed tones: "other subjects" "unsuspecting damage" and "appeared promising".

Fading into the bleak oblivion that always concluded these reactions, terror rolled through her in a single wave upon hearing the words "failed experiments".

* * *

 _Charlie was 18 years old and adulthood was appearing to her on the horizon, barely able to taste the first sweet sense of freedom, endless possibilities. The world was her oyster and she would not be held back on claiming her small portion of it. She had expressed interest at a top rated University over 150 miles away from her hometown nestled somewhere in the south of England, the thrill of looking through leaflets of the English Literature course had given her what felt like a new lease on life. She was determined to further her love of storytelling, her reclaimed bookshelf featuring all of her favourite books had been a saving grace over the last few years._

 _She had been home, leafing through her well-read version of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, when the two Police Officers had knocked on her door. Charlie had opened it to see the solemn expressions on both of their faces and she had ushered them inside, her reaction prompt but guarded. She was standing in her living room when they told her that her Mother had collapsed in the street, dying shortly after in the ambulance ride to the Hospital. They suspected a heart attack, but would need to wait until after the autopsy to conclude the cause of death._

 _The pang of sadness had burned inside of her, similar to that of a fire slowly going out. The Officers were asking if she was okay, was there anyone she could call? Charlie had tuned them out, their voices becoming white noise. Her brother was at work, the thought of having to tell him almost broke her. He had always been Mum's favourite, her darling boy that could do no wrong. Whereas she had her head in the clouds and nose in a book. Her mother had not appreciated her different tastes and personality, occasionally screaming that she was too similar to that useless Father of hers who had left before she was born._

 _Charlie had built herself a way for her Mother's words to longer sting; she had always had a fantasy to pretend to be on another planet, like on the TV shows her and her brother had liked to watch._

 _But now the fantasy was warped, images of disfigured beings and painful needles filtered through her dreams._

* * *

Captain James T Kirk had been involved in numerous situations over the course of his 5 year journey into Space, the most recent attack on his Crew and ship from Krall, as well as aiding several alien civilizations from the brink of extinction and even even coming to the horrifying realization of just how fast Tribbles are able to multiply. But what he was being told by one of his Crew was making the small hairs on the back of his neck stand up, which always they did whenever a certain situation seemed remotely off. It came in particularly useful when he needed to trust his various encounters with many races and individuals.

"It's a Cardassian trade ship, Captain. However there appears to be an anomaly." Sulu informed him, reading the scanners with severe interest.

"What appears to be the anomaly Mr Sulu?" Spock asked the helmsman, his arms crossed against his chest in his usual fashion.

The USS Enterprise-A had stumbled upon the moderately sized ship in one of the further quadrants, the sight of it so far from its homeworld had piqued Kirk's curiosity. The Cardassians were a recently encountered race, their views on other races only caused them to be extremely narrow-minded, their proudly biased and outdated judgment had even caused them to be a subject of several conversations within the United Federation of Planets.

Sulu tapped at his projected screens a few times, the expression on his face made Kirk glance over the Trade ship before them once more. The hull appeared to be damaged and the exterior looked as though it had seen better days. Kirk wondered if its Crew had been scavenging in this outer region, perhaps looking for trading posts along the way. Sulu then looked to his Captain, glancing between him and the First Officer Spock, his words causing them both to raise their eyebrows.

"There appears to be no items for trade aboard their ship, however I appear to be reading a varied amount of dangerously low life signs aboard."

Kirk let the words sink in, his thoughts already jumping to the explanation top of the list. Spock gave him an tiresome look that made Kirk feel as though there were much more reasonable explanations as to these readings.

"Captain, if I could just point out that we have not even established contact with this vessel. Who are we to say that the adverse life forms on this ship are in any danger whatsoever." His cool and clear tone irked Kirk to no end, however the Vulcan did raise a valid point. He sat upright in his chair, his hands gripped the sides as he studies the ship currently in front of his.

"Hail them."

* * *

It was sounds that woke Charlie this time, the struggle to fully gain consciousness made her clench her fists under the metal bindings. Not able to hear the whole conversations of people going past the room she was being held in, words jumped out at her. "Hailing", "Trouble", and "Starfleet". Panic starts to seep into the edges of her focus, her mind whirling from the last few hours, or days. God, she couldn't even say how long she had been here. For all she knew, it had been weeks. This place was already driving her insane.

Charlie's neck and shoulders stung from the previous syringe attacks. She didn't know what was in those injections they kept giving her, but she'd bet that it was nothing good, judging by how much pain had surged through her body at every reaction. Her insides felt like that had been set alight and her head throbbed so much that all she wanted to do was close her eyes to this unwakeable nightmare. But if she did, she wouldn't see the door abruptly open and witness one of the regular figures from her never ending nightmare enter, his heavy boots filing the quiet space of her room / cell.

Another visitation, another injection. The eternally-pissed off looking individual had loomed over her in annoyance, as though her continued existence was a bother to him. After tapping a screen out of her vision, fear curled up in her belly, its coldness reached up to her chest, which was where the creature plunged the usual syringe full of honey coloured liquid.

Charlie screamed this time, and let it be known that throughout all of this immobilization, torture and pain, she had never once screamed. It seemed to fuel the fire even more as it spread out across her four limbs with a newly founded rage. She struggled to take in any oxygen, her lungs barely functioning as her chest heaved and throbbed with vigour. Blackness threatened at the edges of her vision, her eyes watering as she tried to cling to consciousness. A thought broke its way through the pain as her vision went blurry.

Was this how she died; alone, not knowing where she was or what was happening to her?

The pain was causing her breaths to become shallow and ragged, and she heard the monitor that was somewhere behind her emit a high pitched noise. Another whooshing noise made Charlie faintly aware of the fact that somebody else had entered the room, causing her to sluggishly glance in the direction. She was greeted by the sight of the other charcoal colored individual in their blue lab coat. In one quick stride, he moved towards her monitor, muttering angry half sentences which Charlie wasn't able to hear. Bringing a hand to the ridges around his forehead in a contemplating nature, he flips a switch which allowed the mask situated on her face to fill with a gas substance, she presumed oxygen was currently filling her nose and half-open mouth but it all felt like a trick.

Bliss came in the form of passing out, but not before Charlie felt as though there was some sort of pressure on her shoulder, as though someone had placed their hand there. Then, she felt nothing at all.

* * *

With no response and warning bells ringing in his head, Kirk initiated the task of transporting himself, Spock, Lieutenant Uhura and his CMO Bones over onto the other ship. Their reluctance to initiate a channel of communication had only made his decision easier. Leaving Sulu at the helm, he readied himself in the Transporter Room, along with his trusted Crew members.

"Captain," Spock started, "must I remind you of Starfleet General Order 12? We have no established communication with this vessel, it also lacks any firepower to protect itself from our party arriving on board." Kirk had looked at him, pulling his phaser from where it was kept on his belt. Spock couldn't feel what Kirk felt, the pickles of doubt now spiked through his thoughts, justifying the hasty plan to investigate.

Turning to the three of them, Kirk felt like he always did when he made a spontaneous decision; like a Captain.

"Set phasers to stun." He reminded them, giving the nod to his engineering team as they beamed the four of them onto the Cardassian ship.

Dimly lit grey corridors met the Enterprise Crew as they stood defensively, Bones shuddered a bit to Kirk's right and he held his hand up in a 'I'll be fine in a moment' motion. The corridors were lit by an orange flashing light overhead, as if someone had raised an alarm. After a breath Kirk set off down one side of the corridor, the light not fully illuminating his surroundings. Bones was beside him as they glanced cautiously over entrances and doorways, tricorder in hand as he scanned for any signs of life aboard. Kirk looked over his shoulder as Spock and Lieutenant Uhura went in the opposite direction, their focus on the shadows as well. The ship appeared abandoned with no Crew in sight, and this did not sit well with Kirk.

Minutes passed as they delved deeper into the Trade ship, but there appeared to be no signs of Crew or Cargo. Turning a corner, pale lights illuminated the path in front of them, but what caught their gaze were the large floor-to-ceiling windows which looked into smaller rooms. Upon those beds were beings of varied races, lifeless and immobile sat up on what looked like Medical Bay beds. Bones went closer to the closest window, witnessing a Benzite male with deep purple skin looked almost gaunt, their eyes sunken. The tricorder stayed silent as the two of them came to the realisation that this individual was not alive.

"My God…" Bones managed, his voice sounding loud to Kirk's ears in the silent ship. But Kirk couldn't respond, he merely looked on in horror at the various figures strapped down in the other rooms, each one similar to the one before them. He could see an Angorian, their usually bright blue skin now faded to a dull complexion. He was also able to identify a Kristi, the cat-like features making their race easily recognisable, however this one appeared to have lost patches of fur over portions of its body. In the rooms beside them were several other species that Kirk could not remember names for at that moment, the sound of static crackles as Spock's voice comes in clear over their comms.

'Captain, myself and Lieutenant Uhura are on the ship's main deck. It appears that upon the Enterprise being in close vicinity, its few Crew members had abandoned ship, using some sort of veiled technology in order to make an unnoticed getaway. However, we are not sure why-"

"I know why." Kirk cuts him off as he looked around at the horrific scene he was bearing witness to, his tone sounding a lot harsher than he meant to. These people had been strapped down, tortured for all he knew, and left to die, upon the Cardassian Crew receiving his hail for communication. Kirk felt himself recoil at the thought that he may be the reason they had been left here, lifeless and alone.

"Captain," Uhura started, her voice cut off over the comms by a faint blip noise emitting from Bones' tricorder, alerting them to some hope within this ghostly ship. Kirk and Bones paced slowly over to where life sign was coming from, stopping in front of a window nearer to the end of the corridor.

They looked in to find a human-looking girl, in her early 20's or so, it was difficult to tell her age with her face looking so ashen. Her eyes were closed but the faintest rising and falling of her chest proving her to be the sole survivor in this corridor of horrors. As Bones read the signs of life on his tricorder, Kirk went about attempting a way to gain entry into the room, tapping at a nearby control system that lit up at his touch. Hesitantly, he pushed at buttons with various symbols on, no clear indication of how to enter the cell she was currently being held in. He silently hoped that he wasn't pressing any buttons that could cause her any more harm than she had inevitably already been out through. As Kirk tapped at a button with a green square on, the window lifted from the bottom, disappearing into the ceiling and granting them access.

The first thing they realised was just how cold the room was, as they were able to see their breath upon entering. The cold quickly escaped into the corridor, Bones rushing over to view her vital signs more closely.

"She's alive?" Jim Kirk knew the answer to his question, the faint beep on the Doctor's monitoring tricorder was evidence of that. But he needed his friend to tell him, verbally, as reassurance. And that's just what he did.

"It's faint, but she has a pulse and good brain activity." Bones' expression looked relieved, and he was sure he looked somewhat similar, which was surprising considering what surrounded them.

Kirk looked around the chamber again, with no other signs of life to reassure him. He communicated over to his ship, with Sulu at the helm, that there would be multiple teleportations required, several of those were to be fatalities.

The Captain glanced over at the girl again as Bones adjusted the mask on her face, ensuring she was safe to be taken aboard the Enterprise. Kirk wondered what this evolving situation would bring, and just how he would be able to inform this survivor of what she had left behind.


	2. Assent

**Time for Chapter 2! Again, I own nothing but my OC.**

 **I hope people enjoy ready this, as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

* * *

Doctor Leonard 'Bones' McCoy did not appreciate Space, his nervousness to the overwhelming dangers it presented had evolved him into being prepared for numerous possibilities. But witnessing experimentation across varied races had definitely stumped himself and judging by his friends silence, it had had the same effect.

After they had ensured she had no contagions present that could cause any risk to their Crew on the awaiting Enterprise and that her levels were steady enough for her to be transferred, Kirk had managed to release the metal binds that had been placed on both her wrists and ankles. Bones had noted that an IV of sorts had been inserted into her right forearm, providing the necessary nutrition to keep her from becoming malnourished. After ensuring that removing it would not hinder her health in any way, he had managed to detach the tube, the needle pinching at girls skin as he pulled it out. She had not moved as they secured her for transport, the two of them holding her under their arms a few centimetres above the bed, her weak chest movements confirming she was still breathing.

He had prepared his Sickbay over comms to expect a survivor, making sure they were capable for any and all precautions. As they beamed back aboard the Enterprise, two members of his team were on standby in the Transporter Room with a mobile Biobed already prepped for their new arrival. Nurse Colewell and Doctor M'Benga were on hand to transfer their patient, as their Captain and CMO gently placed her on the available bed

"I'll meet you in Sickbay," Kirk told his friend as he glanced over the girls face, running a hand over his own in an exasperated motion. Bones did not need to ask why, he had overheard Spock and Uhura on the comms discussing the best course of action to transfer the bodies over. He had asked his Captain if he should stay to help retrieve them, but Kirk was more concerned about their survivor now being on board and wanted to ensure that his sometimes-lacking-in-bedside-manner Chief Medical Officer was there when she wakes.

As the Doctor left in the direction of his Sickbay, the distinct sounds of the Transporter being used reached his ears and Bones could not stop the morbidly curious thought of whether the Enterprise could have helped the several beings that were currently being beamed aboard, from where they had lost their lives.

Upon reaching the sanctuary of Sickbay, he had ushered M'Benga and Coldwell to bring the girl over to a quieter section, already worried about how she was going to react once awake. Keeping a steady eye on her breathing, Bones had hooked the girl up to one of their Biofunction monitors, attaching a slim white band across one of her thin wrists. As the monitor screen sprang to life, displaying their patients life signs, M'Benga went to work with scanning the girl for more information.

"McCoy, you're not gonna believe this."

* * *

Bones studied the PADD currently propped on his lap, his eyes straining due to having been looking at the damn thing for hours. The readings that had been taken from the sole female survivor of the harrowing Cardassian ship had stumped the Enterprise's CMO, his senior doctor and their Nurse. He had requested Kirk's presence in the Sickbay once he was certain of what the readings meant.

"So," Kirk began, head held in his hands as he leant his elbows on his knees, "What you're telling me is that this girl is from Earth. But 250 years ago?" The Captain was right to be alarmed, Bones hadn't any other explanation to the readings they were getting from her.

"Actually Jim, I'd have to say it was closer to 245 years." Bones ran a hand through his dark hair, watching his Captain with revered interest.

This news had perplexed the Medical Staff and Bones was sure that there an explanation as to how a human girl, from an Earth years past, ended up on a ship in the future, essentially their present. Admittedly they would need to talk with her, hoping that she would be able to provide them with the necessary information, but Bones honestly did not think the girl would be able to shed any light as to how she has ended up here. The worry of having to explain the situation to her caused him to groan inwardly, all too aware of the effect that something of this magnitude might have on a person.

Unfortunately Bones and his Captain wouldn't have much time to consider an easier way to handle the situation, as M'Benga rushed to where they sat in his CMO office. His words had caused the two gentlemen to rush to their feet, Bones muttering a curse as he exits his office.

'Doctor McCoy, Captain, I believe our patient may be coming round."

* * *

Bright, unnerving lights greet Charlie as she comes to, her eyes barely adjusting to the contrast change from the usually deary metallic room that had become her surroundings for what felt like days. It dawned on Charlie that the mask was now absent from her face and that she was no longer in the same room she had been in previously. Her eyes widened upon realisation of being somewhere new and she tried to remember what had happened to her last. Her memory hazy as she fumbled through remembering the injections, the mostly silent captors and the awful pain.

Upon bolting upright, Charlie realised three things: she was in what appeared to be a large Hospital room, there were no longer metal clasps on her feet and wrists to keep her immobile, and that the aching pain within her had not gone away.

Taking in her surroundings briefly, the large clean room appeared in neutral shades of whites and light grey. It featured a few pieces of high tech equipment and Charlie wondered whether she was in a lab of some sorts as she noticed that there were several other beds lined up against the walls, however none of them were occupied.

Hearing the sound of an intumescent beeping, she was able to look up and see what appeared to be a high-tech monitor situated beside her bed, her heartbeat being portrayed on screen with small jagged motions. These spiked significantly upon hearing a whooshing sound across the room, her eyes darted at the familiar noise and her body tensed in remembrance of her encounters from beings that entered with a whoosh.

She saw three men, human-looking men thank God, appearing from the neighbouring room, their expressions almost comically serious as they approached her. She held her arms up in what she hoped looked defensive, noticing the new addition of a slim white band currently strapped to her wrist.

"Please….Stop." Her voice sounds sharp in the large room, and she was aware of all three of them stopping in their tracks.

She briefly ran her gaze across them, noticing two of the men appearing in blue jumpers with dark trousers to match their dark hair, whereas the other one was dressed in a mustard yellow, his hair a close match as well. There were metallic pins adorning their jumpers, but Charlie was sat too far away to make it out in any detail. One of the men in blue holds both his own hands up in what looked to her like a surrender gesture, stepping closer to where sat in the new, but surprisingly comfortable bed.

"It's okay, you're okay." Charlie recognised his accent as American, his tone was warm and it caused a brief moment of calm in Charlie, but her body tenses on its own again as the one in yellow approaches as well.

"You're safe now, no one here will harm you." The other man had an American accent as well, a trusting expression etched across his face and Charlie so badly wanted to believe his words.

She wondered why she had woken up in a strange place with Americans, although she had to concede that it was a welcome change to the creatures she had become somewhat accustomed to seeing. Charlie wondered if these gentlemen had rescued her because she had been abducted. Was she now in America? How did she get here? She couldn't remember anything after the last injection she had received in her chest and the blinding pain that had followed suit. She could hear the monitor to her side begin to pick up its pace, her heart rate elevating at these strangers before her and these new turn of events.

"You were rescued from that Cardassian ship and brought over to the Enterprise. You're safe here." The man in yellow continues. His words confuse Charlie, who furrows her brow at his statement. Cardassian Ship? What was a damn Enterprise? And what the _hell_ was going in here? The calming man in blue jerked his head in the direction of his colleague, an irked expression on his face.

"God Damn it Kirk! What happened to not confusing the poor girl?" Charlie was able to narrow his American accent down to a Southern drawl as he spoke.

"Come on Bones, she needs to know." The man named Kirk retorted back, motioning over to where Charlie sat, who was wondering who in their right mind names was called 'Bones'?

The discussion was causing her panic to filter heavily through and she rolls ungracefully off of the bed and swing her legs out, feet touching the floor. She momentarily reminds herself that this was the first time she had felt ground beneath her feet in a while, the blurred past days had taken such a small and overlooked thing from her.

The three men motioned to move towards her as she barely stood, poised in her fight or flight instinct, she wasn't completely sure which option to choose. The pain made its way back to her surface, it rolled through her like the ocean and she could feel herself swaying. Her vision caught the blue gentlemen as approached in a motion to steady her, but her defensive nature kicked in as she raised her hands up to shield her from the supposed oncoming threat.

The wave of pain within her broke away to a new feeling, it pulsed through her like an electrical charge. With a sharp intake of breath, a warm blast expelled from her fingertips. A force of barely visible energy burst forwards, hitting the man before her and knocking him to the ground.

A thousand thoughts race through her mind at the dramatically evolving situation, her hands tingling lightly from the unknown force she had managed to expel from them. All at once, Charlie feels drained; her legs threaten to give way beneath her and she barely manages to cling to the bed for support. The two other men reach down to the thirds aid, as he props himself up on his elbows, appearing dazed but otherwise fine.

Okay. Seriously, what the _hell_ was happening to her?

She could see their stunned expressions as she dropped down to the floor, hearing a raised voice in her direction as her vision appears to tunnel. Charlie was finding it difficult to breathe, there was not enough oxygen getting to her lungs and her panic was bubbling over, blocking out all thoughts. A soothing Southern voice breaks through her rapid breathing and panic for more oxygen as she focuses on maintaining consciousness.

"Sweetheart, listen to me. You're having a panic attack." She could see that he was kneeling a few feet away from her, bouncing back from whatever had caused her to be able to produce the shielded force she had managed to conjure. "You must be a scared out of your damn mind, but you have my word that we mean you no harm. We just want to keep you safe and understand what has happened to you."

His words fell on her like a comforting blanket, her breathing slowly but surely returning to normal. Her vision begins to become clearer and more focused, the blackness fading outwards and she takes in slow measured breaths as instructed by the man who had been named as 'Bones'.

A few seconds pass before Charlie is able to look up at the men in the room, her mind still whirling at 100mph but at least her heart rate and breathing had regulated to a more normal rhythm. Asked if she was feeling better, she merely nodded at the unsuspectedly loaded question. She hadn't been asked that during the her time in the metallic cell, nor during the multiple syringe attacks she had been victim to.

"Who are you guys and where the hell am I?" Charlie asks, her voice sounding strained as the man with the Southern accent gently aids her in rising to her feet, helping her to sit on the edge of the bed she had woken in. The men in blue and yellow look to each other, unspoken questions asked between their nervous glances.

"This is going to be difficult to hear…"

* * *

"Seriously?" Charlie asked, a quizzical expression on her face.

The one named Kirk, who had introduced himself as a Captain, had nodded almost grimly. He went on to explain how Humans had now navigated to the stars, contact with many alien races had been opened up for possibility and was now regular occurance. Starfleet provided support to the many alien lives they encounter, along with exploring what the seemingly endless Space had to offer. It was also part of something bigger, something called the United Federation of Planets. Charlie's head swam with the information she was being given.

Being well versed in the stages of grief, Charlie first displayed denial, in all of its negative glory.

"No. No way. That isn't possible!" She had exclaimed, surveying their faces for hints that this situation was a prank, a joke in poor taste after the ordeal she had been through.

But as Charlie sat there, memories seeped in from her encounter with the alien life forms she had been abducted by, their treatment of her with the numerous injections and study of her painful reactions. It dawned on her, finally, with a heart-lurching realisation, that what they were telling her must be the truth. Then came stage two: anger.

"What the _fuck_?!" Her language had caused even the foul-mouthed Doctor's ears to darken in shade.

Charlie was right to be angry, she had been ripped from her home, her family (not that she had much of one to begin with). Her heart then sank further into the pit in her stomach upon thinking of her brother. She had thought of him often when back in that tortured place, particularly in the briefest of seconds when she woke and hadn't yet realised she was still captive.

Bargaining was next on the list, as Charlie looked at the two men with a stern expression.

"Please take me home. I promise not to say anything to anyone if that's what it takes?" Her tone was tinged with desperation and she saw the men exchange sorrowful expressions.

"Believe me when I say that I wish I could," The Captain named Kirk glanced nervously at his friend as he broke the news he had feared most, "unfortunately we aren't aware of the method used in bringing you here from your Earth date."

"Abducted." Charlie had said after a pause, a stony silence filling the room quickly with a tense atmosphere. "You make it seem like I was brought here willingly."

She watched as the two men met her gaze awkwardly and it was then that Charlie noticed how blue the Doctor's eyes were.

"We are sorry that this has happened to you. We will do everything in our power to help you." Kirk's tone was confidant, strong even, and it carried Charlie as she mulled over the influx of this new reality she had been thrown into.

She had to agree that this situation was already faring much better than the one she had been subjected to over the last indiscernible period with those creatures. She reminded herself that they were Aliens, their race name having been told to her but Charlie had lost track of it in all of the other jargon. She was comforted by the space currently being given to her by these men, she was not bound in anyway and there had been no pain brought to her by these new faces. The cold metal of her cell room felt like a world away as she sat on the rather comfortable bed, in the warm and airy bright room. She had many, many, questions, but for now she sighed wearily, feeling the strain of loss and confusing weighing hard on her.

"It's Charlie." She said as she gave them a reassuring half smile, "my name. It's Charlie Cassidy." She ended awkwardly, not sure what else to say, but their encouraging smiles in return had made the pit in her stomach lesson a small fraction.

* * *

Bones had to hand it to the girl, she was dealing with this situation far better than he had expected she would. Obviously bar the extremely weird development of the girl having some sort of ability, the force had not been at all painful, however landing on his back had been a shock to his system. She had explained what had happened to her, how she had woken up aboard their ship with no explanation as to why she was there, or what was happening to her.

The onslaught of injections and crude treatment had undeniably wreaked havoc with her, causing her grief, pain and justifiable trust issues. Charlie had experienced a rollercoaster of emotions, proportioned somewhat in the stages of grief, Bones had later realised once she had come to acceptance. He briefly realised that she had bypassed the depression stage entirely, but he had no mind to mention it, instead he kept that nugget of thought somewhere at the back of his mind.

Kirk had left after he had made his introductions to Charlie, satisfied that she no longer posed as much of a risk as she did when she had woken. He had instructed Bones to keep a close eye on their new patient, as well as asking him to gather all data on Charlie Cassidy.

The Doctor had noted the late hour, gruffly dismissing M'Benga for the evening, who had given one last look backwards into Sickbay and its new had also informed Bones that he currently had Spock and Uhura combing through the numerous materials recovered from the Cardassian ship in order to glean as much information about their experiments as possible. Uhura's lack of knowledge with the Cardassian language had momentarily halted their Officers attempts, and as far as Bones had heard, the green-blooded hobgoblin was faring no better.

He glanced over his PADD again, questioning as to why there was no data to explain to him why his new patient was able to produce some kind of kinetic energy, powerful enough to knock him off balance. He knew he would have to gain some blood work from her to positively conclude what she had been subjected to, but was willing to out that off until the next day, not wanting to cause any further fear to her already traumatic experience

He could hear the sounds of heavy water cascading as he glanced nervously at the shower room beside his CMO's office. It was used by various members of staff to decontaminate themselves, or just to clean themselves in general after a particularly tiresome shift. Currently, it was being used by Charlie, his damaged and reluctant patient. The water had been running for a while now and nervousness began to pick at the Doctor's thoughts.

He had offered the girl a chance to shower, having noticed her still being dressed in an outfit from her 2018 Earth. Her eyes had lit up and she agreed completely, relieved at the chance to be able to wash off her previous encounter with members of an alien race.

The sounds of the shower in use had ended and Bones sat in his chair, aware of the quiet atmosphere encased around him. After a few moments the door slid open to reveal a damp-haired Charlie in the grey flannel shirt and trousers that Bones had managed to provide for her comfort.

"That was honestly the best shower I have ever had in my life." She tells him with a true smile, touching her wet hair as she glances around Bones' office. He was surprised at her warmer tone, amazed at how such a small action like having a shower could provide a sense of ease and trust. Watching her attempted to keep her hair from dripping on the floor of his office, he nodded his head in the direction of the shower room she had just excited.

"There is a button in there, beside the mirror. It'll dry your hair." He wanted to get up and shown it to her personally, but he maintained in keeping his distance, aware of how much space Charlie needed due to her having the whole deer-caught-in-headlights look about her. After giving him a curious expression she had retreated back into the shower room, the door automatically closing after her.

For a hesitated moment, there was silence. Then came the inevitable soft whooshing noise of the dryer, as it no doubt appeared out of the sleek grey tiles room. A shriek had Bones out of his seat in a split second, gaze intense on the shower room's door and he curses inwardly at not preparing the girl for what to expect. Then, surprisingly, the shriek evolved into a laugh. It had been quiet at first, easily missed, but the Doctor heard it as it gained volume. Some clenched part of him began to gain some warmth upon hearing that sound, wondering at her joyed reaction to the new technology.

The door slides open again, and the girl before him looked almost unrecognisable. Her shoulder length hair was now a much cleaner shade of blonde and her skin had a healthy pink glow to it. But most of all, Bones saw the biggest change on Charlie's face. Her eyes that had previously looked at him and Kirk in such hesitancy and fear now shone a bit more brightly, green eyes almost sparkling back at him. Her smile was broad and unashamed as she laughed once more, probably upon realising that Bones had heard her reaction to the rather powerful dryer within the shower room.

"You could have warned me, you know." Her British accent was much more noticeable, he realised, when she wasn't upset or afraid. Bones smirked as he placed his PADD to one side, regarding his patient with interest at her becoming more comfortable. The difference between the girl standing before him and the one that had been blinded by panic was startling, to say the least.

"Darling, where would the fun in that be?" She grinned in response as she felt at her wrist, twisting the slim white band in a nervous gesture.

"I've been meaning to ask, what is this?" She looks closely at the band, there appeared to be no clasp or latch to take it off.

"That's a Biometric Sensor, it's currently linked to the monitor by you bed. It basically provides me with all of your vital information; heart rate, blood pressure and brain activity. I can also bring it up on my PADD, to be able to monitor it if I am away from Sickbay." At her confused expression, Bones advises her that she was currently situated in Sickbay, Enterprise's very own hospital ward / doctors office.

His answer appears to satisfy Charlie's curiosity as she stops mindfully twisting the device around her wrist, gazing instead at the PADD currently in place on the Doctor lap.

"It stands for 'Personal Access Display Device', it lets me research and view data on anything in Starfleet's archives." He held the device up in a gesture for her to easily see, but she steps closer regardless. Bones was greeted with the fresh scent of the Enterprise's soap that has used ship wide, its clean and slightly minty smell causing Bones' mind to momentarily blank.

"So it's sort of like an iPad?" She asks him, inspecting the device more closely. Bones wasn't knowledgeable enough in 21st Century medical equipment to answer her question, but Charlie was nodding to herself as if in response, a part of her probably glad that she could liken it to something from her own time.

After a second or so she ventures over to the other side of his desk, now interested in a few various pieces of equipment he kept in his office. Bones places his PADD back down, studying Charlie as she slowly gains more confidence.

"What's that?" Charlie asked him, pointing at one of the objects currently situated on his desk. Bones straightens in his chair as he looks at the small cylindrical object and then back to her.

"That's a Hypospray." He paused as she picked the item up with interest, regarding its slim and circular design. "It administers an injection without the use of a needle." Bones watched as she quickly places the item back down, noting her reaction of his explanation of what the item was.

"And this?" She went to lift another object, but Bones motioned a hand to stop her.

"Careful with that sweetheart," he instructs her with a calm tone, "that's a Laser Scalpel, it's much more effective and efficient than anything from your Earth date." Charlie regards him for a moment with a raised eyebrow, then nods mindfully as she eyes up another piece of machinery in his office.

"What about this? Is this some high tech piece of equipment that's able to produce a cure for any disease?" Her tone is light as she wanders over to the other side of his small office, smiling interestingly at the new object. Bones is unable to suppress a laugh.

"That….is a coffee machine." He grins playfully at her and notices her cheeks flush with pink. She glances back at the black machine, it looking much less sinister than the previous objects she had been interested in. Then she smiles broadly, laughing at her own faux pas.

"In your defence," Bones continued as he laughed at her reaction, "it can cure innate irritability and tiredness."

"Let me guess, side effects include headaches and severe withdrawal symptoms?"

Her quick wit made the Doctor smirk, relieved at her ability to jokingly spar with him considering the introduction they had received from each other . She beamed back at him as she tinkered with the metallic object, fascinated by its cool and sleek design. Bones notices her attempt at stifling a yawn, trying to shield herself from his gaze, but he catches it regardless.

"Just so you know, I'm going to be staying here tonight." He explains, picking up his PADD once again, aimlessly tapping at the screen. "I have a lot of work to catch up on." He states again, seeing her turn slowly on the spot at his words. He decides to add, "No Cardassian's with syringes will be able to get to you, I promise."

* * *

Charlie's expression was that of being deep in thought, a thousand responses on her mind as to what he had said, but instead she surprises the Doctor and herself, by nodding graciously. She looks briefly into the other room, where the bed she had woken up in was situated, it's crumpled covers looked inviting, the monitor still being displayed thanks to the device currently on Charlie's wrist.

The Doctor named Bones stands from his chair, accompanying Charlie through to the larger room and over to the bed. He watches her as she slips under the covers, feeling like a brand new person after managing to get clean and dry with that incredible shower, the hidden segment in the wall that had acted like a giant hair dryer had taken her completely by surprise, but in a good way. Her new bed clothes that had been provided for her felt cool and comforting on her freshly washed skin. Lastly, she looked up at the Southern gentlemen who had mindfully kept his distance from her since her mild panic attack earlier.

"Goodnight Charlie Cassidy." He says, her full name sounding soothing in his accent and Charlie's body relaxes ten-fold.

"Goodnight...Bones."

The Doctor had hesitated as he stood by an advanced looking device on the wall opposite her but she had witnessed the smirk that fluttered across his face. Then he gave the small electronic display a stroke in a downward motion, causing the lights within the room to dim down to an acceptable level.

Charlie adjusted herself on the bed in order to get comfortable, turning herself to lay in the foetal position. She wondered whether the Doctor had heard her crying in the shower, the grief had overcome her in a burst and she had held onto the sleek walls in support as she cried for her loss. Admittedly she had stayed in the shower longer than she probably should have, ensuring that her eyes were no longer red from her tears, glad to have had them washed away, along with the grime she had felt covering her body.

She thought to herself, briefly as her eyelids closed, that this was the first time in a long time that Charlie was able to fall asleep by herself. There had been no injection-caused pain to wreck her body into unconsciousness and no mysterious gas passing through a mask on her face. The weight of the days events had caused her body to be able to fall naturally into a deep sleep, and Charlie didn't realise how much she had missed it.

* * *

 **I am so happy with how this chapter turned out!**

 **Am looking forward to the next chapter I have currently in progress :) Please review!**


	3. Revelations

Waking up, Charlie realised it was from one the deepest nights sleep she had had since the time she had made the mistake of entering into one of those crazy obstacle course marathons in her hometown, where she had promptly dozed off at a despicably early hour and risen to just after sunrise.

She wasn't able to tell if it was before or after Sunrise now, the lights in the large clinical room had been brought up to a somewhat bright level bed she had even woke. Charlie was able to see her recognised surroundings of the room from yesterday, she remembered that the rather good looking doctor had called it the Sickbay.

Charlie looked for him now, her gaze flitting from the numerous empty beds and the doorway through to where his office was, but there was no sign of him. She let out a breath she hadn't even been aware she was holding, anxiousness balling up inside of her at being alone. Surely, she reminded herself, being alone was a good thing. This way she was able to collect her thoughts, be able to slowly introduce this new reality of hers. But a small childlike part of her thought it would have been comforting to have had him there with her when she woke.

A door opening on the other side of the room caught her attention and she turns towards the bigger set of double doors, the ones she hadn't yet gone through. It was a woman who had entered, carrying a familiar looking device. Her skin was a few shades fairer than her own, making Charlie almost mistake her as Albino had it not been for her hair. Burnt orange curls clashed wildly around her pale face, which she had attempted to pin back, but ultimately a few curls had sprung free. The woman's startled eyes met Charlie's own as she stopped dead in her tracks, a few feet from the entrance doors.

"...You're awake." Her voice is high and it almost squeaks, she nervously glances around the room and the resting her gaze on Charlie, who sat unmoving in her bed.

Charlie then realised that she was able to make out various voices and the sounds of falling footsteps from the other side of the doors in which the woman had entered from, Charlie almost cranes her neck to see if she could make out anything in the small slat of window in the door. A noise brought her attention back to the woman, who had stepped forwards ever so slightly.

"Doctor McCoy has been called to the Bridge by the Captain. He asked me to check on you as Doctor M'Benga won't be in until later."

There were a lot of words in that sentence that Charlie didn't understand and it must have shown on her face as the pale copper-haired woman made a step closer. Charlie watched intently, albeit a tad nervously, as the woman approached her bedside, where Charlie realised she looked even more ethereal.

The woman's lips were the lightest shade of pink that Charlie had ever naturally seen on a person, and her eyelashes were tinged with the color red, easily noticeable against her extremely fair complexion. But most noticeable of all was her eyes. They were such a deep shade of brown that they almost looked black. It was then that Charlie realised she was staring.

"Sorry. I'm sorry. It's rude to stare, I know." Charlie touched at the bed covers awkwardly, almost blushing at her attempting a social interaction. "You're just….so pretty."

Charlie hadn't meant to make the woman blush, but that's what happened. Her cheeks flamed a warm pink instantly, but she smiled warmly in response.

"Well thank you." Her teeth shone brilliantly white when she smiled. "I have to say, we have a lot of humans aboard the Enterprise, but none of them are over 250 years old."

There it was, the moment that brought it all back home for Charlie. It was the reminder that she wasn't home, she wasn't even on her own goddamn planet. Balking at her words, Charlie was struggling to find a response. The woman's smile faltered as she realises the weight her words had had on Charlie.

"Well shit, I hope I don't look that old." She finally manages to say, a faint smile appearing on Charlie's face as she looks into the woman's dark chocolate eyes. The pale woman smiles warmly at Charlie then, her dusky lips turning softly upwards. A question comes forward in Charlie's mind and she contemplates whether to ask it, certain she already knew the answer.

"So...you're an Alien?" Charlie finally managed to ask, the question sounding so utterly bizarre coming from her mouth that she had the urge to laugh. She watches as the woman shuffles the device she was currently holding, uncomfortably.

"I suppose I am." She answers calmly, watching Charlie's reaction closely as she continues, "Although only half Alien, from a race called the Betazoids. I'm still half human, my father's side." She gives Charlie a half-smile, no doubt worried about her reaction. Charlie wondered whether this woman knew about her episodic lashing out yesterday, perhaps she was being mindful of her stress levels?

Charlie nodded to herself as she glanced down at her hands and then back to the anxious looking woman.

"I figured. No one from my planet could have that bright coloured hair naturally. Would be a bitch to dye it though." She concluded as she let out a small laugh.

The woman noticeably relaxes as she grins back at Charlie, dark eyes twinkling at the reassurance that she wasn't going to freak out.

And it was true, Charlie didn't feel like freaking out. Sure, she was on a ship, somewhere in the far future. She had somehow managed to knock a grown man onto his ass with some unknown force she had inside. And sure, she had just gone through an experience she wouldn't wish on her worst enemy, but Charlie was finding it hard to stay angry; the feeling was being chipped away with warmth, comfort and kindness.

"I'm Charlie." She tells the woman, fairly certain that she already knew that, proven a second later as she replies.

"I know. I mean, sorry...I have your file." She explains guiltily, holding up her tablet-like device that the Doctor had explained yesterday as being called a PADD.

She continues, "I'm one of the nurses here in Sickbay, Nellix Colewell. But...if it's easier, you can call me Nell." She tells Charlie as she taps away at her PADD, it situated in the crook of her elbow. Glancing at Charlie as she sat in her bed, she decides to add, "You're more than welcome to get washed and changed if you'd like?"

Charlie did relish the thought of using that refreshing waterfall style shower, so she agreed wholeheartedly. And as the woman grabbed a spare change of clothes from a small side room, Charlie realised that it had felt more comfortable than she had thought it would, to talk to somebody from an Alien race. Okay, the Nurse was half human but still, it felt as though Charlie was slowly beginning to ease into this bizarre world.

When the Nurse returns with a few folded pieces of fabric in her arms, an extremely loud and embarrassing gurgle fills in the brief silence. Charlie couldn't help the blush that crept up on her face at the sound of her stomach.

"I could always pretend I didn't hear that and go grab you some food from our kitchens?" Nell's smile was easily infectious, Charlie couldn't help but respond with her own, an unasked question hanging in the air between them.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure it's something good."

With a reassuring expression the Nurse exits the room, granting Charlie a quick glimpse into the much larger world outside those double doors.

* * *

Left in the silence of the Sickbay, Charlie decided to make a proactive decision and wash the sleep off from her, treading softly over to the Office which separated her from the shower. The door opened with that annoying _whoosh_ , the Doctor's office looking a lot less cleaner than it had been yesterday. Several large black coffee mugs were strewn over the desk, a small insignia was noticeable on them and Charlie recognised it as being what had adorned the men's jumper previously.

She hovered, feeling guilty at prying over items left on the Doctor's desk. Upon seeing the strange looking cylinder object she had been told was called a Hypospray, Charlie turned on her heels and towards the shower. She washed off the memories of sharp needles and pin prickling pain that came to her, flickering through in dribs and drabs. Instead Charlie focused on the smell of the soap on her skin, the feeling of fresh and clean water cascading down and took a deep, calming breath. She reminded herself that the pain was over with. She was free of that place.

The shower had been a good idea but Charlie was still delighted at how powerful the dryer was, relishing the gentle feeling as the droplets on her skin disappeared and her hair dried on her shoulders. She changed into the clothes that Nell had provided for her, noting that these were different to the bedclothes she had been given. A dark grey jumper fitted her rather flatteringly, paired with a pair of black trousers that felt a lot more comfortable than she had thought they would.

Thank God the Nurse named Nell had also included a strange looking bralet and some underwear, she hadn't wanted to bring that up to the attractive Doctor who had provided her with clothes previously. The whole ensemble felt strange without any socks and shoes but she wasn't going to complain about that.

Exiting the shower and entering back into the larger room, Charlie was surprised to find that she was still alone. The feeling was uneasy on her, she felt somewhat small and almost fragile in the eerie quietness. The noises outside had quietened down but Charlie still glanced at the large doors, almost wanting to will them open.

Her feet moved on her own as she stepped towards the entrance, nervousness clenching at her heart as she stood in front of the doors and they opened with much less of a fanfare than she had expected.

Bright lights filled the corridor on either side of her, the white gleam of the walls reflecting the light even more so. She could hear people further down, light sounds of chatting and doors opening and closing filled the air. Stepping out, Charlie felt as though sirens should be going off, alerting the nearby people that she was wandering around. And yet, there was nothing. It all seemed rather anticlimactic to Charlie, who decided to go down the corridor to her right, the Sickbay doors sliding shut with a soft sound.

She walked gingerly along the corridor, her bare feet padding silently as she glanced around. Charlie tried to take everything in, amazed at just how bloody _clean_ everything was. There were no marks, no litter, no signs anywhere on the walls whatsoever. It felt rather eerie to Charlie, as she fastened her pace the tiniest of fractions. She saw a junction of some sort coming up, with three different possible directions to take and after hesitating for a brief moment, Charlie turns left, amazed at how large this place appeared to be.

This new corridor felt a bit wider and she could make out several figures further down, but Charlie was distracted by one of walls, that looked as though it had been painted into an impressive mural of space. It was an embarrassing few seconds before Charlie realised that it was no mural, she was gazing out of a large window into Space.

She stood, transfixed, at the stunning scene. The dark blue Space was almost black in its pitch, littered specks of white flecked as resonating Stars and Charlie could make out an interesting array of colours somewhere further in the distance, her mind concluding that could be various planets.

Charlie had always loved looking at the stars back home, but it had been hard to see anything with the clouds that seemed to cover their night sky, she was barely able to appreciate it. This view was something else entirely, it literally took her breath away. Its sheer vastness overwhelmed her to the point where wanted to look away but was afraid to in case she missed anything spectacular.

"Goddamnit, you can't just run off like that!" A very familiar and slightly pissed off voice said, causing Charlie to jump out of her skin.

She turned to see the Doctor named Bones to her left, hands on his hips in an irked fashion. It seemed comical to Charlie, that he had thought she had run off. Honestly, where the hell would she run off to? She couldn't help the small laugh that slipped through as she looked at the Doctor with a curious expression.

"I wasn't running." She simply stated, turning her attention back to the sea of stunning Space before her.

"Have you seen this?" Charlie motions to the window, still stunned in its sheer beauty. He almost barked a laugh at her in response.

"Are you kidding sweetheart? One crack in the wrong place and we all boil alive in this damn tin can!" He raises his hands in exasperation, causing Charlie to raise her eyebrows.

"Has anyone ever told you that you lack certain skills, like bedside manner for example?" She asks humorously, a sly smile appearing on her face.

"I'm always telling him." Another male voice interrupts from behind the attractively stern Doctor, a flash of a yellow jumper making Charlie recognise the man named Kirk, who was in fact Captain. He gives Charlie a smile and she doesn't have to wonder if he is popular with the ladies, the playboy good looks were a dead giveaway.

"It's something else, isn't it?" Kirk nods at the endless Space beyond the window as he stands with his hands clasped behind his back. Charlie could barely manage a 'yes' in agreement as her stomach rumbles again, the two men glancing at her in amusement.

"Nurse Colewell's managed to get you some food, but she didn't realise you wanted the tour beforehand." Charlie greeted the Doctor's sarcasm with a forced smile, her hunger had peaked again as she turned away from the window and walked with the two men back down the corridor.

"Well I wasn't sure where the nearest McDonald's was?"

* * *

She had to agree, the food was definitely something that would take getting used to. It was no Quarter Pounder, but the flatbread she had been given had a meaty texture sandwiched between. After a tentative few bites, hunger had taken over Charlie, wolfing down the remaining pieces she had been given.

With her stomach full and satisfied, Charlie looked at the two men who were currently sat on chairs in front of her in the Sickbay. She herself was cross legged on the bed, feeling far more casual than she had been 24 hours ago. Kirk nervously coughed after Charlie was finished eating, signalling that he was about to say something that would either make himself feel uncomfortable, or her.

"I know this is going to be difficult, but we need to understand exactly what has happened to you." Charlie already did not like where this was going, but she knew that he was only speaking the truth. He continued to say, "I'm sure you'd like to know what caused that energy yesterday, as much as we would."

She nodded, keeping her gaze on the two men before her, anxiously waiting for what was about to come. Bones spoke next, his intense blue eyes set on her.

"I need to take some blood from you to run some tests. I know you've been through a traumatizing experience and I want to make this as damn near painless as possible, for you, as well as myself sweetheart." He smiled as if to reassure her, causing Charlie feel a wave of guilt over her previous altercation on him.

Of course they would need to take some of her blood, they wanted to know as much as she did, why she had shown some sort of supernatural power. She realised that they were worried about her reaction, and honestly, she could not blame them. They didn't want to risk her getting emotional and reckless, God only knows what else she could do.

So she nodded at them in answer of their request, noting the visible relief on both of their faces. She wanted to find out what those creatures had done to her. What had caused her to be able to knock someone down without touching them?

As Bones busies himself gathering an item from his Office, the Captain named Kirk fills in the silence, hands clasped in his lap and a focused expression on his face.

"We want to make you feel as comfortable as possible whilst on board, Charlie. I promise that as Captain." He seems so sincere, that Charlie feels guilty for asking the first thing that came into her mind.

"Aren't you a bit young to be a Captain?" She watches as Kirk blanks, but she definitely hears the chuckle of laughter that comes from the Doctor as he re-enters the room. She tries to back peddle, feeling as though she may have insulted him in some way, "I'm sorry, I just mean...well you hear Captain and you kind of assume older man, gruff beard, maybe an eye patch."

The Doctor's chuckle turns into a bark of a laugh as he stands beside her bed.

"Well I'll be damned Jim! That's _definitely_ what you're missing." Bones smirks at his friend, who returns with a coy smile of his own.

"Keep laughing Bones, I'll be sure you're on shift when Spock requires his next physical." Bones' laughter dies quickly upon those words and Charlie can't help but smile at their exchange, questioning what on Earth a 'Spock' was.

The Doctor holds up a device Charlie hadn't yet seen. It was square and slightly larger than a mobile phone, the large screen was currently displaying black.

"This here, darling, is a Blood-Analyser Unit. It's gonna tell us whatever the hell kind of shit they've given you. Then we'll work on your magical powers, alright?" She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at his sarcastic suggestion of whatever power she had.

"Hows about you help me out here sweetheart, and roll up that sleeve of yours." Charlie hesitated the briefest of seconds before doing as she was told, aware of the sound of her own breathing. Bones sprays the skin on her shoulder area, the action caused Charlie to jump mildly. She turns to see the Doctor placing a Hypospray down, apologizing softly to her as he meets her startled gaze. He nods at a small item in his other hand and Charlie briefly though it was a pen as the item was slim in design, but it was completely clear as though it were made of glass.

"Now I'm not gonna say 'you'll feel a small prick', because let's face it, you're a grown ass adult." He states gruffly, but he throws her a sly smile that definitely reaches his eyes.

Charlie could hear the Captain laugh behind her, muttering something in response under his breath. The Doctor gives him a sharp look, and Kirk quietens instantly. Charlie gives Kirk a smile as she nervously looks away from the Doctor who was angling the pen-like device just above her shoulder.

It was only a pinch, but the scratch of the needle still caused her to clench the sheets on her bed. She looked straight ahead as she counted seconds going by, the situation reminded her of when she had to get vaccinations as a child. She pushed back thoughts of similar injections, of being strapped down, thrashing in pain.

In the next second the scratch of pain disappears and the Doctor notifies Charlie that it is over by letting her know she can roll her sleeve back down. Bones walks over to his vacant seat, eyes focused on the screen as it whirs to life after inserting the small vial inside. The red liquid of her blood was a shocking colour against the cool silver, and Charlie was slightly mesmerized by it.

After a moment, a beep from the device causes her breath to hitch, not sure what the outcome of this was going to and how it was going to affect her. She felt as though she needed to know either way.

"Well, I guess that answers that question." Bones says in a matter of fact way.

* * *

Charlie really was taking this news rather well, if she did say so herself.

Okay, so she had been inserted with some Alien DNA. But not just any DNA, nope. Some race of Alien that happened to have some kind of freaking _telekinetic ability_.

"Psionic." Bones corrected her with a glance, as he reads through her results. "And it's a damn mystery as to why the hell they would mix Ocampa DNA with a human's." He sounds perplexed, as he gives up with the Blood-Analyser device, opting instead for his PADD.

Kirk remains quiet as he mulls over this information, perhaps wondering this exact thought as well. Charlie hadn't been in this future long but was beginning to see that experiments with DNA was out of the ordinary, even in this bizarre place. He catches her gaze as he runs a hand across his fair beginning of a stubble.

"Well, how are you feeling?" He asks her, concern etched across his face. Bones looks up at her as well, curious as to her response. Charlie thought for a second before replying.

"Other than being told I've been injected with some Alien DNA? Just peachy." She gives him an incredulous look, as if there was any response to that question that wasn't sarcastic.

Kirk merely nods his head at her tone, having expected her to still be processing this evolving situation.

"Successfully changing the form of a person's DNA is a risky procedure. Perhaps that's why there were others being used as test subjects?" Kirk asks, more to himself than to Charlie or Bones.

But his words struck something inside of Charlie, she remembered hearing those creatures talk about others, describing them as 'failed experiments'. A cold shiver runs down her spine as she recollects those callous words, cursing herself internally for forgetting them. She hadn't been alone in her torture, but she was now in her rescue.

Bones gives Charlie a panicked glance, jabbing a rib into the Captain's side at his supposed slip at the others deaths.

"It's...okay. I remember that they had said something about some others, about them being classed as 'failed'. But I had never seen or heard anyone else in that place."

Pitiful glances look back at Charlie, and she avoids them by looking at her hands in her lap.

"Were any of them...human?" She asks, curious as to the answer. Kirk blinks at her question, but shakes his head somberly.

"You were the only human we saw, and from a different time as well. It makes no sense." His words echo Charlie's own thoughts, but she feels as though she will never get the answers she wants to hear.

Kirk pulls out an object that looks extremely similar to a mobile phone, flips it open presses a button.

"Spock, tell me you've managed to decipher the data from the Cardassian ship." He asks into it, a second or two passes before a male voice responds.

"Actually Captain, we have. Lieutenant Uhura's rather basic knowledge has allowed us to adeptly translate texts and data using our scanners." This voice is blunt and well spoken, and Charlie can see Bones rolling his eyes at the man's tone.

He ends with, "Captain, you're going to want to see this."

* * *

Kirk brought Charlie with him as he went to meet Spock and Uhura, the biting tone of his CMO followed them on route.

"Calm yourself Bones, she has a right to know." Kirk looks over at his ship's new charge, her face was currently full of expression but he wasn't sure which one was more dominant. He wasn't comfortable keeping anything from her and he knew his friend wasn't either, but Bones kept glancing around them as they headed to his Bridge, aware of the new stresses that Charlie would be facing upon leaving the sanctuary of Sickbay.

The whole situation didn't sit right with Kirk and he needed all of the information ready so that he could relay it to his superiors at Starfleet. He had already informed them of the time-travelled patient and he had stated his intentions to give the girl too and board on his ship until there was a definitive plan in place. Commander Paris had requested Kirk to hail a meeting at one of their Starbases, once they knew what they were dealing with.

His Crew aboard the Enterprise were well aware of the sole survivor they had managed to rescue, the ship had been abuzz with her arrival as well as the several bodies they had beamed aboard, which were currently being kept in a cryogenic state in a secluded part of his ship, ready to hand over to higher-ups at Starfleet. He hadn't wanted Charlie to accidentally stumble over them in Sickbay, but was proud of how she seemed to be coping with the influx of life-altering news.

As they approached a set of doors, Kirk was mindful as to how fast this situation may be developing for her, and stopped short of the turbolift that would take them straight into the Bridge.

"Okay, so I know a lot is happening right now, but you're dealing with it fantastically." Kirk informs Charlie as he turns to her, witnessing the surprised expression appear on her face.

"It could be the shock, she may be-" Bones starts to say but both Charlie and Kirk silence him with a look. Kirk presses a button, signalling for the lift doors to open, which they do, and he gives the gentlemanly motion of letting Charlie walk in first. She gives him a dubious look but enters anyways, with himself and Bones following suit.

"Right, big spaceship. Lot of Aliens. Don't freak out." She reiterates for him, letting him know that she wanted to take all of this in her stride.

"Call it the Enterprise, she's not just any spaceship." He beams at her as he presses one of the many buttons, the doors close soundlessly and they move up.

"It's a 'she', huh?" Charlie questions him as she gazes at the interior of the turbolift.

"All great ships are a 'she'." He explains to her, grinning at her expression.

Kirk was used to the motion, aware of how fast the lift had to go in order to get past the many floors and Sectors to get to the Bridge. He watched Charlie intently from the side, impressed with how marvelled she seemed.

"Even your lifts are much nicer here." She states, looking around admiringly at the glossy white interiors.

"Oh sure they are. I just love the thought of being in a pressurised container on a large metal whale in deep Space." Bones' sharp tongue causes Kirk to look at his friend over Charlie's head, a playfully irritated expression on his face.

"Bones, stop calling my ship a damn _whale_! She's a beauty, not some old Earth sea beast."

The Doctor muters in response to his Captain's words, but Kirk can still hear Charlie's intake of breath as the doors open and he's greeted with the familiar view of his Bridge.

* * *

"Captain on zee Bridge." A thick accent states to the large room as Kirk stepped out first, followed closely by Bones and then hesitantly by herself.

She was in awe, actual mind-boggling awe, as she takes in the room around her. It was surreal, she was standing in some sort of control room, with a whole giant wall granting her an impressive view of the endless Space.

There were a lot of people in here, different coloured jumpers adorning them and Charlie wondered at the uniform they all appeared to be dressed in. Her own grey jumper appearing bland compared to the bright yellows, blues and reds. She tried not to focus on how many of them watched her, before they pretended to go back to their various consoles.

Kirk approached a dark skinned woman who was currently sat at one of the consoles, focused intensely on screens projected at her in long lines of writing.

"I'm not going to lie Captain, it's not pretty." She states, her dark eyes glancing worryingly over at Charlie as she stands awkwardly between the Captain and Doctor. Kirk nods his head in acknowledgment at her words, motioning for her to continue.

"From what I can gather, the few Cardassians on board were experimenting with splicing DNA from several different species and inputting them into various races. It appears in their data that they were attempting to weaponize DNA from races which harboured some manner of abilities. Ultimately they were wanting to combine them with Cardassian DNA, but the effect proving lethal on their own kind."

The woman pauses, taking a breath at relaying the information to her Captain. She widens a screen that was currently somehow situated in mid-air, the ultra high tech monitor displaying photos of various bodies. Charlie recognised the deep grey coloured skin, heavily marked ridges across their forehead and neck caused her body to still instantly.

"I have records shown here that the Cardassians then looked at trialling this with other races, but the results remained the same. However, there did appear to be more of a positive reaction to the altered DNA from races that shared heritage to that of Humans."

Charlie hadn't realised the woman was still speaking, she had been mesmerized by the images of various dead Aliens on the screen, all different colours and sizes. She could even see one or two of their faces, blank and void of any expression, but their eyes open in horror. A light touch on her forearm brings her focus away from the disturbing images and into the concerned deep blue eyes of Bones.

"You alright there sweetheart?" He asked her, his Southern accent blaming her mind from the horrors on the screens. She nodded after a hesitated second.

"Yes. Sorry. Carry on." Her voice seemed timid and she wasn't sure she could trust herself speaking in longer sentences, without her voice breaking. The woman regards her again, worry etched across her face as she glances between Kirk and Charlie, moving her hand in a motion which causes the images to change into something that resembled a timeline, rows of text surrounding a thick white line.

"Sir, they've written in their logs about finding Humans from an earlier Stardate than our own. Apparently, their lack of exposure with the realms of Space made their DNA much more susceptible, essentially making them the perfect candidates." She spoke in a low tone, her gaze not entirely reaching Charlie's, who was still soaking in this new information. Kirk speaks next, his tone low and serious.

"But how were they able to travel back to her Stardate? We didn't see any sign of time travel method aboard their ship."

"The place was a damn junkyard Jim." Bones interjects, his own voice now gruff and irritated.

Another voice chimes in then, Charlie recognises it from when the Captain had called for one of his colleagues on the strange phone-like device.

"It appears, Captain, that the Cardassians had access to a temporal vortex. It was created using some form of Ophidian creature, which is able to manipulate triolic waves, thus creating distortions in Space and time."

This new voice belongs to a tall male standing beside the woman, an expressionless look on his face as he regards Charlie briefly, before addressing his Captain. But Charlie cannot help but stare at the sight of his elongated ears, reminding her of a description of an Elf.

"And what in the _hell_ is one of those, when it's at home?" Bones asks, throwing his hands up in an agitated manner.

"I assume, Doctor, you're referring to the word Ophidian? It is a snake-like creature, however they are considered extremely rare, one might go as far to say extinct."

Kirk glances between the man and woman, his expression a flicker of interest at his words.

"But they had one on board right? They had used it to bring Charlie here. Surely we can use it to send her back, to send her home." He looks from one person to the other, briefly looking sideways at Charlie as she stands awkwardly, holding her breath at his words.

She didn't want to dare hope, but the word 'home' caused a flood of emotion inside of her. This was quickly quashed by the pitiful look the woman gave, first to her Captain and then to Charlie herself, eyes downcast and mouth in a tight line.

"I'm afraid that the Cardassian log states it was destroyed, essentially burnt out from continuous use."

Charlie takes a second to soak in these words, letting them fall off her shoulders like heavy rain. She had heard the groan from Kirk, as he visibly deflates at being told this information. Charlie could even hear the Doctor cuss harshly beside her as he runs a hand through his hair.

So here she was, God knows how many life years away from home, stranded in this bizarre world with no hope in getting back. She could see it on their faces as they came to realise it too. That's when it finally hit home that Charlie was well and truly up shit creek, without so much as a damn paddle.

* * *

 **Please review and let me know if you are enjoying this Fic! It brightens my day :)**


	4. Potential

"So this is where you'll be staying."

Kirk directs Charlie to a doorway, opening to reveal modestly spacious and clean room. It was awash with light colours; cream walls, soft grey flooring and a decent sized bed.

He wasn't sure what to say to her now, the revelations from Uhura and Spock had rendered them all silent, considering the weight of their effect. Kirk had eventually thanked the two for their work, mindful of Charlie's somber reaction. Then he had asked for her to follow him back into the lift, Bones following suit closely behind her with that worried expression he usually had on his face.

Kirk now watched as Charlie gently approached various items in the rooms, becoming aware of what they were for. Approaching a door to her left, it opened to reveal a small bathroom, complete with tiled shower.

"I'm sorry." Kirk eventually said, causing Charlie to look into his deeply concerned gaze. She looked lost, green eyes blinking back at him and he wondered if she was feeling fragile from the disturbing answers she had been given as to how she had ended up here. Briefly, he wondered whether it would have been best to keep Bones around for this part, even with his lack of comforting social skills.

"I'm not sure why you're apologizing," she says to him, eventually seats herself on the edge of the bed, taking in the view of her new living quarters. "You didn't bring me here."

Charlie watched him as he joins her sitting on the bed, he sighs heavily as he tries to comfort the shock she had been dealt with.

"I'm not going to pretend to know what you must be feeling right now. God knows I'm pretty pissed, and admittedly it's been a while since I've seen Bones this worked up." He nods at his own words, elbows resting on his knees with his head in his hands.

"I made you a promise Charlie. One that I intend to keep." She watches him as he speaks, listening intently to his words. "I've arranged to meet with Starfleet Officials at one of our new Starbases in a few days. I'd like to bring you with me, to show them what you are able to do." He explains, cautious of her reaction.

"Honestly, I'm not even sure what I'm able to do myself." Charlie responds in a questionable tone as she glances down at herself in confusion.

Kirk thinks over her words, thoughts whirring in his head as he tries to come up with a solution. He stands from the bed, surprising Charlie with his sudden movements.

"Well how about we just take it one step at a time?"

* * *

"I'm not so sure about this." She states to him, glancing dubiously at the room Kirk had brought her to. It was similar to a gymnasium, the walls appeared to be a thicker padded material and she could recognise dummies of some fashion on one side.

"Damnit, I agree Jim! I think you've finally lost your corn-fed mind." The sharp tone of the Doctor quips as he stands between Charlie and the Captain.

The idea was extremely stupid, she didn't want to cause any harm to Kirk, nor anyone else to that matter. But he had reasoned that in order to explain the situation fully to his superiors at Starfleet, first they must be able to gain a bit more knowledge with the psionic energy Charlie was able to produce.

Bones had been summoned by Kirk in order to monitor Charlie's levels, although the Captain had received a rather foul-mouthed response from his CMO upon telling him of the plan. Reluctantly, Bones had met them in the recreational gym room shortly after, muttering curses of 'knock some sense into him' and 'damn deathwish'.

The Biomonitor Sensor was still present on Charlie's wrist, feeding her vital signs back to the Doctor's PADD, which he held with a discernible scowl. Kirk, however, had a mischievous look on his face as he cocks his head the two of them.

"Well I did offer you the chance of a good old fashioned 1-on-1 with Charlie here-"

"God Dammit man. I'm a Doctor, not a sparring partner." Bones interrupts, giving his Captain an annoyed expression.

"Well then, I guess it's up to me." Kirk lets out a laugh, rolling the sleeves of his shirt up, preparing himself into an attacking position. "Let's see what damage you can do."

Charlie frowns at his words, already regretting her accepting the Captain's offer try and draw out the kinetic energy from her once again. She wonders how on Earth he was going to go about this, when she suddenly witnesses him try to rush her.

She reacts by turning on her heel, allowing him to sweep past her in a breeze. He flashes her a look as he readies himself again, his feet bouncing lightly on the padded flooring of the strange gymnasium, as he lunges towards her knce more.

Once again, Charlie escapes his outstretched hands by moving swiftly to the side, her body moving on instinct. Memories surfaced of the self-defence classes she had taken back home, the evening's she had spent trying to get out of hard clutches and compromising positions.

"Come on Charlie, _focus_." Kirk tells her as he circled her slowly.

But Charlie wasn't sure how to, the whole motion of this exercise seeming pointless. She didn't even know how she had even managed to do it last time, only remembering the panicked feeling in her chest as that Doctor had closed in on her.

She wondered if she felt too comfortable now, aware that the Captain and the begrudging Doctor meant her no harm. Then she felt a warm hand grab at her wrist as a blur of yellow invaded her vision, breaking her thoughts.

Another instinct took over Charlie then, as she moves her body into a defensive stance, twisting the grip on her skin like she had been taught to in her self defence classes. A power surged in Charlie's defense, she felt it flash through her, flexing out of her outstretched hand as she attempts to pull herself out of the grip.

A more solid yellow haze projected outwards, she saw it act as though it were a barrier, pushing the grip loose from her wrist and causing Kirk to be knocked off his feet.

She stood, panting slightly, attempting to process what had just happened. Kirk lifted his head up from where he lay, having had the wind knocked out of him in one swift motion.

"Well that didn't hurt as much as I thought it would." He chuckled as he stood upright, dusting himself off. Charlie approached him with a step, but then keep her hands down by her sides, worried that another flash of energy might set off again.

"Shit, I'm sorry!" She started to apologise but was quickly cut off by Kirk who held his hands up at her.

"Don't apologise Charlie, this is what we want." He tells her, then glances over to Bones who looks at a loss.

"Did you get that?" Kirk asks the Doctor, wanting to know if Charlie's sensor had picked up on any readings.

"Her Dopamine levels are elevated, heart rate has escalated and blood pressure is standing steady." Bones' gibberish means nothing to Charlie, and apparently not to Kirk either.

"In English, Bones!" He exasperates, the Doctor gives him an extremely withered look.

"Okay, damn it! All signs point to this Psionic ability being produced by Charlie's urge to protect." Bones translates, nodding his head in Charlie's direction. Kirk appears to mull over this information, regarding Charlie with a curious look.

"Have you had practise in combat before?" He questions her, remembering the way she had attempted to twist herself out of his hold earlier.

"I took some self defense classes a few years ago, learning a bit of hand combat for protection in certain attacks." Charlie explained, gazing down at her hands which had once again demonstrated her not entirely normal circumstance.

"Okay, let's go again." Clapping hands in a 'ready' motion, he stands back into an attacking pose. Charlie looks at him in shock, surprised to see him wanting to continue.

"Jim, the girl just knocked you on your damn ass." Bones shouts to his Captain, already done with this experiment.

Kirk ignores him, instead putting some distance between himself and Charlie, who watches him with concerned interest. She begins to say something but is cut off when Kirk starts to sprint full on in her direction, a look of determination on his face as he shows no sign of slowing down.

She felt herself focus sharply, concentrating on recalling the feeling she had felt from before. The only way Charlie could describe it was as if she was flexing a muscle somewhere deep inside. The surge of warmth bled through her body as she brought her hands up in a 'stop' signal, witnessing Kirk getting closer. Much too close.

She flexes, concentrating hard as she does so, and the familiar pulse of energy shot outwards from herself, creating a barrier of some sort. It was dusky yellow in colour but still visibly transparent, as Charlie was able to see the stunned reaction from Kirk as he collides with its energy, it providing her with a shield from his running advance.

The Captain bounces off the energy with a discernible ' _oomph_ ', landing with a heavy thud a few feet further away. Charlie's breath catches in her throat as Kirk lays on his stomach, able to hear him groaning into the floors soft padding.

She joins Bones as he rushes to Kirk's side, worry evident in his face. As he rolls his friend over gently, Kirk lets out a throaty chuckle as he clutches his side.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" He gives Charlie a grin, and she breathes a large sigh of relief, having felt the colour drain from her face. Bones, however, curses loudly at his antics.

"Damn it Jim! One of these days you're going to give me an aneurysm." The Doctor pinches the bridge of his nose in exasperation, clearly having had more than a few occurrences with the Captain that gave him cause to panic.

Kirk turns to Charlie, his light blue eyes lighting up at what she had managed to produce.

"Are you okay?" She asks him, her heart fluttering in her chest as he attempts to stand, holding his side in a painful gesture. Bone notices this as well and pulls out a small scanner device from his pocket, placing it over his affected area as he looks in concern.

"Thank God its just bruising. You're lucky to have not broken a damn bone, man!" The scolding tone of his friend causes Kirk to laugh in a nonchalant manner, waving off the device Bones was intent on keeping latched onto him.

"It was different this time, wasn't it?" Kirk asked Charlie, the mischievous look back in his eyes as they shone at her. She hesitated before nodding, aware of how she had somehow managed to control the ability, letting herself award Kirk with a small smile.

"Again."

* * *

The energy barrier flashes ahead of her, broadcasted by her outstretched hands as she deflects another of Kirks attacks, this time it was right hook aimed at Bones' stomach. The Doctor braces himself for the impact that doesn't come, as Charlie wills the energy to absorb the attack, the Captain yanking his arm back in contact with the psionic force.

A trickle of sweat runs down her shirt as the energy barrier flickers, then fizzling out completely. Kirk slaps his friend's shoulder in a comradery gesture, breathing slightly harder after his several attacks that had been aimed at Bones

Charlie felt wiped, her own energy feeling frazzled. They had been at this for what felt to Charlie like an hour or two, although there was no discernible way to tell due to their being a lack of clock in the gymnasium.

She had actually been able to conjure the shield-like form of energy, blocking herself off from the Kirks array of attacks. The Captain had then wondered if Charlie was able to manifest the energy to protect someone else from an attacking move, the unfortunate Bones becoming more involved in their sparring. Thankfully she had risen to the task, being able to produce the same force thatch defended her, for the Doctor, who cursed at Kirk for involving him.

"Okay, that's enough of that." Kirk stated, concerning gaze running over Charlie's face as she catches her breath. Bones was now reading her no doubt spiking levels, thanks to her fancy waistband, his brows furrowed in worry as he comes to stand in front of her.

She waves him off, her face flushed and brow lined with sweat, feeling more alive than she had in a long time.

"That was amazing!" Charlie declared to the two of them, Kirk's face mirrored her own in wonder. Bones, on the other hand, looked a little less overjoyed.

"Yes, yes. Very impressive. Now calm yourself darlin', you're heart rate and blood pressure are going haywire." He nods at the PADD before him, highlighting several lines in a warning amber colour. Charlie takes a few deep breaths, attempting to steady her head breathing.

She ached, but in a good way, her hands had begun to tremble from continuously managing to provide the shield energy. She could feel her heartbeat beginning to normalize, much to the relief of the Doctor.

"Well I'm not sure about you guys, but all this getting-my-ass-kicked has me starved."

* * *

Kirk and Bones led the way for Charlie, their journey ending upon a large set of double doors which opened before they had even approached. A young women exits the doors, her skin a soft shade of blue, which causes Charlie to stare at her. The new woman greets her Captain, Bones and Charlie, offering her a friendly smile before leaving down the corridor.

"That's still going to take some getting used to." Charlie explains as she watched the woman walk further away, her duck-egg blue skin illuminated by the brightness in the corridors white walls.

"Darlin', just wait until you see Keenser from Engineering." Bones smirks at her as they walk through the doors, entering what appears to be a modern Mess Hall.

This room was extremely well lit, and tiled white like the remain Dr ref ref ship she had seen so far. There were wild rectangular tables and smaller circular ones, reminding Charlie of a School cafeteria. The tables were scattered with a few people, some deep in friendly conversations and others were too busy eating.

They join a table with several people already say at, their friendly faces inviting them to sit. Charlie tries to steady the nervousness that clenched inside, her palms suddenly feeling sweaty at the thought of meeting new people. Sure, she was able to produce some psionic barrier, but was still cursed with feeling socially awkward.

"Official introductions have been lacking lately, I apologize." Kirk informs Charlie, as he then proceeds to introduce her to the sea of new faces.

A young man with slightly curled hair named Chekhov offered a handshake to Charlie as she seated herself at the table. She recognised his accent as being the one that had introduced the Captain back on the Bridge. Charlie briefly wonders if they were the same age.

Next to be introduced was Scotty, a short haired man with a thick Scottish accent energetically reached across the table for Charlie's hand as well, his nervous laughter caused her to smile warmly in response.

The last person at the table was one Charlie had already met, the darker skinned woman had her long hair in a ponytail, an apologetic expression on her face.

"I just….I want to say sorry, for everything you've been out through," the woman who had been introduced as Uhura explains, holding her own hand out for Charlie who takes it without hesitation.

"Thank you." She responds back, her nervousness seeming to have dissipated.

Bones sits beside Charlie, a tray containing various plates of food appearing as if from nowhere. He hands her a plate featuring some sort of rice dish, proving cutlery for use as well.

"Is anything on that tray for me, Bones?" Kirk asks the Doctor with a grin, eyeing up his tray.

"You're a grown man Jim, you can go and get your own damn dinner," came his gruff response, diving into his own plate of food.

Kirk slips away, almost sulkingly, and Charlie watches as he heads over to one of the walls, where there appeared to be several objects resembling microwaves. With interest, she sees him jab the screen several times, causing the screen to light up. Seconds later he appears back the table, his own tray full of food steaming away.

"They're called food replicators, basically conjuring food out of matter so that we don't die of starvation or malnutrition aboard this blasted metal contraption." Bones states as he stabs at his own meal, his obvious dislike of being aboard a Spaceship confusing Charlie as to why he stayed.

As they ate, Charlie catches eye contact with the man named Scotty, as he wipes his mount on the back if his hand.

"So tell us honestly lassie, has Doctor McCoy 'ere been giving you any grief?" Scotty points a finger the Doctor in question, a playful smile on his face, but it causes Charlie to become thoroughly confused.

"I thought your name was Bones?" She asks him, noticing the others looking amused at her assumption. Charlie watched he gave her an unreadable look.

"My full name is Leonard McCoy, that damn idiot started calling me 'Bones' when we met and its happened to stick." He looks at Kirk who was grinning from ear to ear, then back at her, "did you honestly think think my name was 'Bones', sweetheart?"

Charlie felt herself blush, evidence of her actually thinking it was. But now she remembered that the Nurse named Nell had called him McCoy, Charlie just hadn't paid much attention it.

"There's been a lot of weird shit on my radar lately. Also, why didn't you correct me when I called you 'Bones'?"

"I wasn't gonna be the one to correct you, darlin', especially after you had knocked me to the damn floor." This caused a few people at the table to raise their eyebrows. Charlie couldn't help but but press the issue, unsure as to how he could warrant such a nickname.

"So why 'Bones'?" She wasn't sure if the question was taboo, considering the silence that she was met with. Even Kirk gave her and the Doctor a curious glance, wondering what his response was going to be. Charlie watch as the Doctor gave an uncomfortable grimace at her question.

"It's a long story, and I'm not interested in tellin' it." He simply tells her, his tone sharp and to the quick. Charlie couldn't help but notice his tense atmosphere, still curious as to why he seemed so annoyed at the subject.

"Wow, okay. No need to be such a dick about it." Charlie couldn't stop the snarky response that escaped her, wishing she had bit it back instead.

Chekov tried not to look at Charlie and Bones, instead becoming _very_ interested in his plate. Uhura and Scotty were watching their conversation avidly, hardly touching their own food in front of them. Kirk however, was struggling not to laugh at their exchange, chowing down on his own food with gusto.

"Geez, where's that gentlemanly Southern charm we all love and cherish?" Jim grins, giving his friend a playful wink across the table.

"Piss off Jim." The Doctor growls at the sarcasm, sighing wearily as he motions to stand, "and thanks to your sparring escapades, I have a shit ton of work to write up. So I'm gonna call it a night." He take his empty tray with him, leaving a few stunned expressions in absence, including Charlie's own.

"Is he always that much of a prick?" She asks the remaining Crew members at the table, observing a few nodding heads, particularly from Scotty.

"Aye lass, he's just a wee bit pent up. Happens to the best of us sometimes, staying on a big ol' ship this long without shorebreak."

"Which thankfully we have coming up soon. We'll be heading to Yorktown in a few days." Kirk informs them, finishing the food from his plate.

The others appear relieved at this news, already discussing where they would visit or who they might be able to see. But Charlie could feel her body beginning to ache, the day beginning to take its toll on her as she stretches where she sits.

"Well I have the pleasure of having to meet with Spock over our meeting with Starfleet, it might be a good idea for you to grab some rest." He looks at Charlie across the others. "Come on, I'll walk you back to your quarters. Can't risk have you wondering round the Enterprise for a week, trying to find it on your own." Kirk gives Charlie a reassuring smile, rising from his seat and collecting her tray along with his own.

"It was really good meeting you all." She says, leaving them sat at the table as she walks away with the Captain.

* * *

The walk back to her new living quarters was thankfully a quick one, but Charlie noticed Kirk giving her sly glances as they walked and she wondered what it was that he wanted to say.

"Just say it." She eventually says, her bluntness a sign that she was just too tired.

"You seem to have really settled well here." He tells her as he turns down another corridor, greeting several people in red and blue uniform. They briefly looked at Charlie beside their Captain, but they greeted her warmly as well. Charlie thought over Kirk's words for a brief second, considering how Bones (or whatever the hell she was supposed to call him now) reacted earlier.

"You mean apart from with the argumentative Doctor?" She gives a small smile as she continues, "it's like you said before Captain; she's a great ship and she's got a great crew. It's definitely helped with this whole shitty situation."

Kirk stalls in his step at her response.

"What?" She asks him, curious as to what she had said to offend him.

"Nothing...it's just, that's the first time you've called me Captain." His smile was warm as it reached his eyes and Charlie had to look away from his earnest gaze.

They arrived outside of one of the many rooms on the corridor, Kirk having to remind Charlie what number and section it was, in case she roamed about.

"Well, this is where I leave you." He says, opening the door for her. Charlie hesitates before entering, wondering whether she should ask him.

"Is there...any way I can read through Starfleet History and archives? I'm a bit of a bookworm, or well...was a bookworm, you know, before?" The words stumbled from her in a gut wrenching correction. Kirk appears to notice her discomfort, but ignores it politely.

"There'll be a PADD for you to use inside. I could show you how to use it if you'd like?" He seemed to genuinely want to help her but Charlie shook her head at his offer, thankful all the same.

"No, its fine. I'm sure I'll work it out." With a reassuring 'goodnight', they part ways, Charlie entering this strange new room of hers and Kirk retreating down the corridor they had had just come from.

* * *

An hour passed by, then two, as she scrolled through many texts, amazed at the vast amount of information and knowledge available at her fingertips. This device made her iPad back home look positively archaic.

She soon became accustomed to words like 'Starfleet', 'Federation' and 'Starships.' Charlie felt as though she were studying for some unseeable exam, as she attempted to read through Starfleet's fascinatingly long and intricate History.

Rubbing her strained eyes, a morbid curiosity unfurls in Charlie's stomach as she hesitantly searches for her brothers name, managing to narrow down the search radius by inputting his date of birth. She scoffed at the sheer long list of available date to choose from, amazed at how far down she had to look for the years 1980 - 1990.

 _Liam Cassidy (1986 - 2049) - Deceased_

 _Cause of Death: Stroke._

 _Next of Kin: Melanie Cassidy (Wife - Now Deceased)_

 _Descendants: Lola, Henry & Charlie._

A gasping sob broke the silence in her room, and it took Charlie a few seconds to register that she herself had made the noise.

She re-read the words, their shock to her system had made her hands begin to shake. Of course her brother would be dead, she was over 200 years in the future,but it still felt fresh, white hot grief gripped her heart.

But it was reading his children's name ( _he'd had bloody kids!_ ) that she recognised her own, although the birthdate was much later than her own. With a sharp intake of breath she come to realise that her brother had named one of his children after her.

The grip on her chest tightened painfully and Charlie felt the hot tears sting her eyes as they rolled down her cheeks. Deep sobs racked her body as she curled into a ball on the bed like a child, mourning the physical loss of her brother, the only family she had had back on her own Earth.

Charlie also mourned the loss of her unknown sister in law, along with her listed niece and nephews. It was hard to mourn someone without a face to picture, so instead she pictures Liam's face. His broad and goofy smile fills Charlie's vision as she succumbs to sleep, her face stained wet from her tears.

Her distress oblivious to all members of Crew on board bar one individual, who still had access to her vital signs.

* * *

Bones hadn't even thought twice as his PADD had displayed troubling signals from Charlie's Biometric sensor. Her quickening heart rate and stress levels had caused him to rush out of Sickbay, informing M'Benga over his shoulder that he wouldn't be long. He left the other Doctor with a stunned expression in an otherwise empty room.

 _God damn it all to hell_ , he thought to himself, briskly pacing to the end of the corridor and turning towards the living quarters, still clutching his PADD tightly in one hand.

Bones hadn't meant to lose his damn temper earlier. He was embarrassed at how he had handled the situation, but it had been difficult to keep his sarc in check as Charlie had probed at the nickname given to him by Kirk, and Bones conceded that she wasn't to know why it was a sore subject.

The memory itself had irritated Bones as he thought back on it, remembering how his ex-wife had taken practically everything, leaving him with only his bones from their desperate divorce.

Kirk knew this as well and the nickname that had resulted was a bittersweet one to him. Bones had admitted to a small part of himself, though, that he had liked it when Charlie had called him it. It had become concrete proof to him that she had become more comfortable in his presence.

Scanning the doors for her room number, Kirk had informed Bones of it, wanting the Doctor to know where his estranged patient would now be situated.

Further down, the room numbers were beginning to get closer to Charlie's, Bones slows down his pace ever so slightly at the realisation that he was close. Upon arrival of it, Bones studied her door, then glancing nervously down at the PADD.

Her heart rate had become more regulated, blood pressure and stress levels were averaging at just above normal, to Bones' relief. He studied her signs closely, coming to the conclusion that she must have fallen asleep.

As he stood, transfixed in front of her door, he hesitated over what to do next. His quick thinking actions had brought him swiftly here, but now the Doctor could feel his adrenaline slowly melting away. He was caught between two minds as to whether to knock or not, risking waking her up from her troubled rest, wanting to ensure she was safe.

Eventually, and rather reluctantly, Bones withdrew away from her door. His return back to Sickbay felt withered as he forced himself through to his Office. He wanted to ignore M'Benga's curious glances and questions as to where he had gone, but instead he had snapped, replying that it was none of his damn business.

M'Benga returned to checking their vaccine stock levels, letting the insult roll off his shoulders, surprised as to why he had expected any other response from the brusque CMO.

Seating himself back in his chair, Bones contemplated why he hadn't checked in on Charlie, his impulsive action of making it to her door had resulted somewhat anti-climatically.

As he reached into one of his desk drawers for a glass tumbler and his second favourite bottle of whiskey, the Southern Doctor concluded that he was just a damned fool.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed! Please review!**


	5. Momentum

Charlie gasps awake as the PADD clatters to the ground, pulling her from the troubling and restless nights sleep she'd had. Pulling herself upright, she was slowly reminded of the search on her brother on the device, her irritating curiosity had gotten the better of her. The date of his death was now engrained in her memory, it had crawled under her skin and left her with an reachable itch.

Noises outside Charlie's door drew her attention. She could hear voices and heavy footsteps and she wondered if these were the noises of the ship's Crew getting ready for their day. She hadn't met anyone from her neighboring rooms yet, yesterday having passed in such a blur that she felt guilty for not attempting introductions of her own.

She picked the PADD up from the floor, thankful that it didn't appear damaged after its fall. The high tech screen appeared to blink on as she touched it, causing her to quickly close the last entry she had been reading about her brother Liam and his family (hers as well, she had to remind herself).

The shame of crying herself to sleep had settled deep in her chest and Charlie tried to bury it, the mounting pressure of these last few days were wreaking havoc with her. She was determined to be fine, wanting to feel as though she wouldn't break at the slightest upset, but she had begun the feel the cracks forming the last day or so.

Last night had been a slip up on her part, the mistake of looking at what she'd lost had chipped away at the armour Charlie was attempting to build for herself. It was getting progressively harder to contain her grief, it threatened to spill out of her like the tears did last night.

Decisively, she heads towards the bathroom, its blinding light causing her to squint and she witnesses her reflection in the mirror. The sight of red eyes and pale, blotchy skin looked back at her, Charlie had to remind herself that she was only human. Or at least she hoped she was.

The shower was the same as the one she had used in Bones' Office, and Charlie stills under the cascading water, catching herself thinking of him. What was she supposed to call him now? The others had referred to him as McCoy, but the name sounds unfamiliar to her, as if she were describing someone else. She avoids thinking too much on the subject, instead she washed her face from last night's tears, wanting to banish any evidence that she had been emotional.

When the hot shower had turned her skin to a darker shade of pink, Charlie dries herself and slips on a clean pair of underwear she had managed to find in one of the drawers.

Entering back into the main room, she hears the trail ends of urgent knocking at her door. Before Charlie could even call out a response, the door opens.

With a frantic entry, the easily recognisable uniform of the Captain Kirk comes into her view, followed shortly by the bold blue uniform of a worrisome looking Bones.

A split second passes before Charlie is horrified to realise she is stood only in her underwear, the two men in front of her coming sharply to that realisation as well. She shields herself by grabbing at the crumpled bed sheets, attempting to preserve her dignity as she makes out a startled noise.

"What the _fuck_?" She exclaims, watching as the two men recoil at the intrusion of her privacy, the Southern Doctor abruptly turning around on the spot as Kirk places a hand over his eyes in a rushed manner.

"Shit, sorry!" He stutters, finally find in his voice, "we had knocked for a while but there had been no response. We were worried that you-"

"That doesn't mean you can barge in as you damn well please!" She interrupts, anger and embarrassment surfacing at the unfolding events.

"Now listen here darlin', we wanted to make sure you were alright." Bones says, his back still to Charlie but she could make out the deep blush on the back of his neck.

"Get out!" She raises her voice this time, heat flaming on her face at the unfortunate situation she had found herself in. The two men practically scarper out of the room, the door opening and closing with a resounding _whoosh._

* * *

Kirk groaned as he placed his head against the wall. This had _not_ been how he had wanted to start off his day.

When Bones had called for Kirk a few moments ago, informing him that he believed Charlie had been upset late last night and that they should probably check on her, he hadn't asked his friend many questions.

After knocking on her door and receiving no response, the two of them had given each other concerned looks.

"Maybe she's already left?" Kirk had offered, reasoning as to why there had been no response. But Bones had simply shook his head, signalling to the Captain that the console outside of the door informed them that it was still occupied.

Exchanging worrying glances, Kirk had then proceeded to override the privacy on the door, causing them both to have rushed in to her room in a panic.

Well, Kirk thought, if she hadn't been upset last night, she definitely was now. This caused Kirk to groan again, louder.

"Will you shut up making that damn noise?" Bones barked at him, leaning against the wall opposite Charlie's room. He had a hand covering his eyes in a pose that Kirk knew all too well.

"Did you drink last night?" The Captain asked his friend, studying his reaction with a curious look.

"None of your damn business." Came the curt response, paired with a heavy sigh at the headache he undoubtedly had behind his eyes.

Kirk raised his eyebrows at Bones' words, wondering the reason as why he'd drunk the second-rate whiskey that the Captain knew he kept stashed away in his desk.

"You know, you can be a bit of a dick when you're hungover." Kirk stated back at his friend, his voice low but he made sure Bones could hear him.

The door opens, causing both men to startle at the appearance of Charlie, now fully dressed in trousers and long sleeved grey shirt. A noticeable blush was still present on her face, which had a rather stern look on it, as she stood with folded arms in the doorway.

"Do you mind telling me why you barged into my room? Surely you guys still have the concept of privacy this far in the future!" She asks them, her tone razor sharp, causing Kirk to inwardly cringe.

"You didn't answer when we knocked. We got worried." Kirk trailed off towards the end of his statement, embarrassed at how quickly he had jumped to conclusions.

"And why would you worry over something like that?" She asks, her curious nature informing her that there was more to it than they were telling her.

A silence falls on the two men under Charlie gaze, but it is Bones that eventually breaks it, his tone cautious and concerned as he admits the reasoning behind their worry.

"Your Biometric Sensor had picked up some spikes in your levels last night, I saw the readings on my PADD this morning." He informed her, a hand shielding his gaze from the closest overhead light.

Charlie looks at the device on her wrist and a flash of something else crosses her features. Now she seemed pissed off.

"Take it off." She instructs him with a steely gaze as she holds out her wrist with the offending item on it.

"The device is there to help you, sweetheart. It can record-" He attempts a calming action with his hands as he takes a step forwards, but he is cut off mid-sentence by her cold tone.

"I don't need it tracking my emotions and levels 24/7. I'm not some fucking experiment for you to monitor my progress."

Kirk was surprised at her statement, concerned that was how she felt about the medical bracelet on her wrist. He had thought the device would be reassuring for Charlie, he hadn't realised she felt it was the opposite.

The Captain could see that Bones looked taken aback at Charlie's words as well, his brow furrowing in an attempt to alleviate her anger. But Kirk could see her trust in them was starting to darken at the edges. He knew that she needed to feel safe, to her that meant no longer being monitored like a child, or some test subject.

"Take it off her Bones." Kirk asks the Doctor, giving Charlie an apologetic look.

McCoy glances at his Captain briefly, as if to debate, but thinks better of it. He approaches Charlie as she stands with her wrist held outright, watching intensely as he unclips the simply white band with a simple and swift maneuver.

The Doctor tucks the medical device into his trouser pocket, taking a step backwards from her as she gently rubs at her now unencumbered wrist. Charlie looks at them momentarily, the flash of anger turning into a look of derision as she regards the two of them.

"I'm fine." She tells them, answering the question hanging over their heads. Kirk wondered if she said it enough times, that Charlie may believe it.

She obviously didn't want to linger on the issue any further and Kirk was mindful not to dredge up the issue for her, especially if she wasn't willing to talk about it. He knew that what he had arranged for her may help some of the misplaced trust and emotion, before they met with his higher-ups at Yorktown.

"How about we start this again?" Kirk offers as he hesitatingly steps towards Charlie.

He knocks at her room door with a contrite expression on his face, in an effort to break the discernible tension that himself and the good Doctor had caused. At his attempt to sooth the situation, Charlie couldn't help the small smile that threatened to appear on her lips, no doubt wanting to hold onto to the anger.

"There's someone I'd like you to meet."

* * *

The person, it turned out, was Lieutenant O'Rourke. The man in question had short hair, broad shoulders and stood at a burly 6'2; practically towering over Charlie as they made introductions.

"I got the feeling yesterday that all of your pent up energy was needing a release." Kirk explains to her as she gives the new man a curious glance, his own bright yellow shirt clashing boldly against the grey interior of the gymnasium that they were in again (or the Physical Recreation Centre, as Kirk had called it).

"I've enlisted his help as Chief of Security with providing you more training than I am able to give you. Don't worry, he's already been brought up to speed on your ability." He reassures her with a friendly smirk after Charlie had given him a questionable look.

"We'll be meeting with members of Starfleet superiors the day after tomorrow. This will give you a great chance to gain some experience with this energy you're able to produce, without the joy of watching me get my ass kicked." Charlie couldn't help but smile at his humour, the unease and embarrassment of their earlier encounter was beginning to dissolve.

She glanced fleetingly at the Doctor, who was stood so stoically beside his Captain. He had barely looked at her since they had barged into her room, or even when he had taken that damn emotional tracking device off of her.

Charlie had panicked for a second, wondering if he'd known she had been upset last night. She wondered just how much information had been relayed to the Doctors PADD, but he hadn't said anything about her distressing cry. The only words he had spoken on route down here had been to inform Kirk that his Sickbay had received a few patients displaying symptoms of having a Cold.

Charlie was fascinated by the thought of being in a world where space travel and alien races were completely normal, but there was still not a cure for the Common Cold.

"Well I have a few matters to attend to, so will unfortunately have to miss this showdown." The Captain smirks at herself and his Chief of Security, who responds with a grim smile of his own.

"I could have Bones stay on my behalf, to make sure that-" Kirk adds, but Charlie snaps a response before he could even finish his sentence.

"I'm sure Doctor McCoy would prefer to go see the patients in Sickbay that require his attention."

A clammy feeling appeared in Charlie's palms at the thought of making the Doctor hang around awkwardly, especially as she attempts to control this new power she was still coming to terms with.

Bones looks at her then, an unreadable expression on his annoyingly attractive face. Even Charlie had to admit that the name had felt strange to say, but she kept a cool demeanour as she surveys his reaction.

"Damn straight," came his response after a moment, adding, "I'll be glad to finally get some work done around here."

Kirk glances between Charlie and his grizzly CMO, but holds back on his own snarky comment. Instead he turns to the Security Officer beside him, offering a mock salute.

"Well, Lieutenant O'Rourke, I wish you all the best." Kirk laughs as he motions to leave the room, the Doctor walking a few steps ahead of him without a single look back. Kirk does turn around before he exits, with a cheerful voice and a mischievous wink.

"Don't go easy on her!"

* * *

And go easy on her, he didn't.

Charlie was panting as she wiped at the encroaching sweat on her brow, her shoulders heavy from her ragged breathing as she again attempted to put some distance between herself and the Lieutenant.

He had been showing her some simple but effective hand to hand combat, and it had pleased him somewhat to know that she had some of the basic techniques already down. The difficulty lay in her being able to provide attacking combat whilst also being able to provide her defensive energy psionically. It's effect was pressuring her to use multi-tasking skills to a whole new level.

With another grunt she flashes her hands up in front of her, blocking the ramming shoulder from Lieutenant O'Rourke as he charges at her with his full weight.

The effort at keeping all supposed 200lbs of the Chief of Security was straining Charlie, mentally as well as physically. He had a way of using all of his strength to test Charlie to the max, and she had to admit that she was enjoying it.

It was a comforting feeling knowing that she didn't have to hold herself back so much, the Lieutenant was able to take the blows her energy was distributing, letting them roll him to the floor. Within seconds he was usually back on his feet, preparing for another round.

As she sprang lightly on her feet, Charlie edged forwards after O'Rourke landed on his back again, ready to distribute a set of punches before he had the chance to get up. In one painfully swift motion he had kicked Charlie's legs out from under her, the padded floor softening her landing as the breath was knocked from her body.

Laying there, feeling dazed and defeated, Charlie gulps in lungfuls of air as her limbs lay sprawled out.

"I've gotta tell you kid, you're got one hell of a fight in you." The Chief of Security was chuckling as he managed to get up with a soft grunt, offering Charlie a hand off the floor as well. She couldn't help but beam, feeling the praise radiate on her skin like deprived rays of sunlight.

He reminded her of Paul, the elderly Chief of Security from her job back home. Although with _a lot_ more muscle. Charlie let the melancholy memory of the man wash away from her as O'Rourke speaks to her.

"It's getting late," he glances at a sleek display on his wrist, "we should probably call it a day. Go and grab some food, we can meet here same time tomorrow." He informs her, looking rather tired himself.

Charlie left him at the gymnasium room doors, trudging her aching body down the corridor as she headed towards her room. She desperately wanted a shower, her sweat soaked skin made the grey shirt cling to her in an uncomfortable fashion.

She walked past many different people, each of their faces were different shapes and shades. They either looked at her with a realizing smile or turned their glances away in a socially awkward action, she wasn't sure which of the two she preferred.

Charlie hadn't had time to meet any other people on board, her interactions had been rather limited to either the Captain or the tense Bones.

Not that she was about to go from deck to deck, introducing herself with something like: " _Hi, I'm Charlie. Yeah, the one rescued from that strange and mysterious Alien ship. Oh no, I'm completely normal, apart from coming over 250 years into the future. I'm also able to produce some crazy energy shit due to said Aliens thinking it would be a really good fucking idea to inject her with some other Aliens DNA."_

So yeah, maybe she'd just have a shower and work out the weird food replicator in her room. The concept felt extremely familiar as it was what she did had done most evenings back home; staying in with some comfort food and a date with Netflix. Oh God, she really missed Netflix. And Chinese. Her mouth began to water at the mere thought of vegetable spring rolls.

Reaching the familiar corridor or where her room was, Charlie recognised a familiar haze of orange to the room beside hers.

"Well hey there." The woman named Nell smiled cheerily at her, Charlie saw that she was dressed in her Nurse uniform, concluding that she must have either finished a shift or was just starting one.

"Hi." Charlie said lamely, drawing closer to her own door.

She glanced at Nell, puzzled at the coincidence of them being neighbors. Had Kirk done this on purpose, she wondered. It seemed too big of a chance that her neighbor was one of the only other people she had really spoken to aboard this ship, the fact that she was medically trained must have been a plus.

"Wow, you look like shit." Nell laughs as she scans her eyes over Charlie who smiles at the statement, not feeling as bad as she must look.

"I've been having some training." She tells the fiery haired woman, who gives Charlie a very curious look. So Charlie decides to add, "with Lieutenant O'Rourke?" Suddenly Nell nods, as though that must explain everything.

"Ah, that man is notorious for putting a few Officers in the Medical Bay. He can be a bit full on sometimes." Nell laughs as she explains this to Charlie, who could definitely imagine the damage the Chief of Security could inflict on someone in training, let alone in actual combat.

Nell pauses as she looks at Charlie, a few people passing by them as the two of them stand hesitantly at their doors.

"Look, you can tell me to get lost and leave you alone, but I'm actually just going to have a quick shower and change, then head down to grab some food. You're more than welcome to join me?"

She seemed so sincere, Charlie couldn't help but feel the warmth of her offer as it seeped into her aching joints. She considered telling Nell that she felt completely and utterly beat, the thought of heading back out to get food daunted Charlie somewhat.

But she couldn't bring herself to say no, her mouth already moving, different words falling from her lips after a slight consideration.

"Actually, that sounds great."

* * *

That's how Charlie ended up sitting with Nell, Doctor M'Benga and a dusky green skinned woman called Lornar, the dim noise of the large Dining Room filling her ears.

She had to admit, she didn't feel as awkward or misplaced as she thought she might, considering the two strangers currently sat opposite her.

Charlie had almost reconsidered joining Nell after her brisk, but thoroughly needed, shower, but the Nurse had tapped on Charlie's door to see if she was ready. Charlie had swallowed the anxiously polite excuse that had been at the tip of her tongue and changed into a clean set of clothes, following Nell back down the long and winding corridors.

"So, are you like, a time-traveller?" The one with bottle-green coloring asked Charlie, her face not showing any hint that she was joking.

"Don't be so stupid, Lorn. Plus, you can't ask her that." Came Nell's defensive response, giving Charlie an apologetic expression.

"Wait, what? I didn't mean to be offensive, I've just never met anyone from the 21st Century before." Lornar shot back, glancing worryingly between Charlie and the flame haired woman to her right.

"It's okay." Charlie states simply, continuing, "although I don't really think I can be called me a time traveler if I never intended to come into the future."

Lorna pondered over her words, somewhat satisfied with her response as she nods absentmindedly into her tray of food.

"I've read archives of Medicine History from back then, it's amazing how people survived through diseases like Malaria and the Plague." Chimes in M'Benga thoughtfully, causing Charlie's eyebrows to raise slightly.

"Uh, I think the Plague was a good few hundred years or so before my time." She quips back, slightly offended at being put in the same century as the Bubonic Plague.

"Ah, but it's a lot closer to your time than it is to mine." He flashes her a humorous grin as he crams in the remainder of his food in one bite. Nell looks on in visible disgust at the sheer amount he was able to eat.

"You have ladies present M'Benga, how's about you don't try to show off that wide mouth of yours." His dark skin shows a blush as he mutters a response, but his mouth was too full of food to be heard properly. He swallows an impressive mouthful, grinning at the disapproving look Lornar was shooting him across the table.

"If I wanted to eat with a pig, I would have sat with a Tellarite." She says with a dismayed tone, leaving the table with a cheery goodbye to Charlie and Nell.

"And that is why you are still single, M'Benga." Nell informs him with a grin, tucking into her own tray of food.

"I'm sorry for any offense ladies, but I have about 5 minutes before my shift starts in Sickbay and I'm not in the mood for another one of McCoy's rants about there being a 'damn time and place for shovelling food into my face.' Apparently on shift is not one of them." His exasperated expression caught Charlie's attention.

"Oh, don't remind me. He wasn't happy with the amount of people we had coming into Sickbay, he kept calling the Enterprise a 'Petri dish of Space germs'." Nell gave a wry smile at the two of them.

"So he's a moody prick a lot of the time then?" Charlie asks aloud as she moves the food around on her plate, conscious of her empty wrist after this morning's antics.

"The guy isn't the biggest fan of Space. The irony of a Doctor with aviophobia being on board a spaceship is not lost on me." M'Benga tells Charlie, and at her bemused expression, she was informed that it meant a fear of flying,

"Then why the hell is he here?" She asks in response to this information, causing M'Benga and Nell to exchange a quick glance, their eyes portraying unanswered questions.

With a simple shrug of their shoulders, the two of them let the conversation fade into silence. That is, before the Nurse gives Charlie a casual look with her dark eyes.

"You and Doctor McCoy seem to get on well though," Nell states as she studies Charlie with a coy smile, the food laying forgotten on her plate as she watches for her reaction. M'Benga throws them a curious look at the mention of Charlie and the grouched CMO.

"I wouldn't exactly say that…" Charlie begins to respond, absentmindedly rubbing at the vacant space on her wrist where the slim white band had previously been, recollecting the last few conversations with the moody Doctor.

"Wasn't that why he came to your room last night, to check on you?" The Nurse offered with a wilful gaze, a sly smile playing on her pale lips.

Charlie furrowed her brow in confusion, knowing full well that she had not seen the Doctor in question after he had left at dinner, his irked expression and biting tone had left Charlie stunned. Nell took in Charlie's confusion, gathering that she knew nothing of this encounter.

"It must have been late as I'd been down one of the Recreation Rooms with a few of the Science Officers. A few of them happen to be able to hack the food replicators to create a decent cocktail or two." She tells Charlie with a knowing wink.

"Wait, what?" M'Benga pipes up from across the table as he watches a vivid blonde in a blue dress walk past their table.

"Yeah, they've even managed to replicate some old Earth drinks. We should go-" Nell is cut off by M'Benga waving his hand nonchalantly at her.

"No, about McCoy." He stated, curiosity now piqued.

"Well, it definitely looked like him, but don't forget that I'd had a few Stardrifters, and I don't need to remind you how lethal those can be." Nell gave a chuckle at M'Benga, hinting at some unknown previous encounter with the beverage.

"Well he did leave Sickbay in a hell of a rush last night, but returned a few minutes later. He wasn't exactly in a chatty mood about where he'd been either." He explains, giving Charlie and Nell a perplexed expression.

She wasn't sure what to do about this piece of information that had been fed to her, as the Doctor had made no mention of any kind of late night visitation when he had seen her this morning. But then again, Charlie reminded herself, this morning had been a rather hectic and embarrassing debacle.

M'Benga curses loudly at seeing the time and jumps from the table, causing Charlie to startle at the sudden movement. He offers apologies to the two women as he hastily exits off into the direction of Sickbay, almost running into the familiar figure of Scotty in the doorway, who gives Charlie a friendly wave upon seeing her. He notices her sat with Nell and heads on over to another table, joining a few others in red coloured shirts.

Nell gives Charlie a crash course lesson in the uniform of Starfleet, informing her of what the colors represent and which division they appear to fall under. It was fairly straightforward and simple; people in command wore the yellow, anyone in Security and Engineering were easily noticeable in red, and lastly was blue, for the Science and Medical Crew.

Charlie felt a little more at ease as the subject turned away from the Doctor, instead Nell was describing to Charlie the previous escapades and adventures that the Enterprise and its Crew had faced in its journey. She told her of the previous threats Kirk and the others had faced, Charlie sat there amazed at the dangers they had faced aboard the ship.

As the two of them eventually retreated back to their own quarters, their stomachs full and eyes heavy, Charlie couldn't help but wonder on why Bones had supposedly come to visit her last night. His words from earlier that morning echoed in her ears as crawled under her sheets, sleep coming to her almost instantly.

" _...we wanted to make sure you were alright…"_

The problem was that Charlie wasn't entirely sure if she was alright.


	6. Disillusion

**Sorry its been a while between updating, things have been rather hectic! But I'm back and determined to continue. I hope you are all enjoying readying this chapter!**

* * *

In all honesty, Charlie hadn't sleep well at all, her dreams had been scattered with sharp stings, loud voices and a building sense of panic. It had caused her to wake several times throughout the night, each time she was gasping for breath and her skin was pricked with sweat.

Rising early the next morning, Charlie had showered, dressed and left the room before she had even heard anyone else up and about. With the lack of sunrise and sunset, she felt as though she were missing out on any resemblance of a normal routine.

She headed straight down to the Physical Recreational Center, the corridors were scarce of people this early and the silence soothed her in its vastness. Walking through a winding corridor, Charlie was presented with another spectacular view from the Enterprise, looking out into the ever expanding Space.

She stopped in her tracks as she took in the spectacle outside of the window; it was a startling reminder of where she was, or more importantly, where she wasn't. The view amazed her and the Enterprise ship continued to impress her. But the smallest part of Charlie wondered about her old life back on Earth, the one that she had lost due to circumstances beyond her control.

After she had been abducted, had people looked for her? Had she been featured on the news as missing? Her brother had moved out of the city before she had been taken, but there was still an ache inside Charlie's chest whenever she pictured him, remembering the brief times as kids that they had shared good memories.

The thought that some Alien race had deemed it necessary to rip people from their homes and lives to experiment on in order to attempt to create a hybrid of their own race, staggered Charlie's belief.

"I wasn't sure if you were sleepwalking."

Charlie turned her head to the voice that had broken the silence, Kirk's curious expression coming into view. She blinked at the surprise of seeing him there, but she wasn't sure why; it was his ship.

"Just...taking in the view." She told him, giving him a side glance as he stands beside her, breathing out a slow breath as he does so.

"How did it go with Lieutenant O'Rourke? I meant to catch up with you yesterday but I've been caught up with something." He asked her, genuinely curious as to how it had gone.

She then proceeded to tell Kirk about the vigorous training his Chief of Security had put her through, mentioning the fact that he was more than capable to keep her on her toes.

Charlie wasn't aware of how her face lit up at discussing combat techniques, but Kirk was. He was now appreciating Bones' idea of involving O'Rourke in aiding Charlie with her ability, her slow burning confidence more evident now.

"I was informed that you've made some new friends on board." There was that sly smile, Charlie noticed, as Kirk at least pretended to be gazing out at the star's before them.

"Scotty?" Charlie asked, remembering the name of the short haired Engineer who had cheerily waved to her yesterday.

"He was worried that you may have been by yourself." Kirk explains with a nod, referring to the friendly Scotsman.

"So is that why you picked my room to be next to one of the Medical Bay nurses?" She smirked at the chastened look upon his face as he began to feign ignorance, but Charlie gave him a knowing look and the excuse rolled off of his lips.

"I just...wanted you to be near someone familiar." He said simply, his words hanging over her head. "It was either her or Bones. I gathered I'd save you the turmoil."

Charlie couldn't help but smile wearily at that, imagining the irritable Doctor as a neighbour was a frightful thought. Kirk watched her reaction as he mentioned his friends name, glossing over the subject.

"So, tomorrow." He said simply to her, not wanting to overwhelm Charlie with the foreboding meeting with Starfleet that he had arranged. She looked directly at him then, anxiousness swelling inside at the daunting aspect.

"Yeah. Tomorrow."

* * *

They had parted ways shortly after their brief exchange, Kirk had given her a reassuring smile and advised her to not worry about tomorrow's approaching prospect of being able to release her pent up anxious energy with the Chief of Security eased her nerves just a fraction.

Walking into the gymnasium, Charlie saw that O'Rourke was already there, occupying himself with training one of the dummies that she had seen at the far end of the room. The sounds of his swift punches and kicks echoed in the large gymnasium style room, his steady breathing filling the gaps of silence between his excursions.

The combat sounds against the padded dummy stopped as Charlie approached, O'Rourke giving her a welcoming nod. Reaching for the small towel beside him, he wiped at the sweat up in his forehead and asked if she was ready to begin.

Charlie appreciated that the Chief of Security was a man of little words, their conversations were filled instead with swinging punches, lunging kicks and heavy grunts.

She dodged another of O'Rourke's onslaught of attacks, his shoulder clashing heavily with the energy barrier she had conjured up in a swift breath. Hastily wiping at the beads of sweat on her face, Charlie positioned herself in an attacking stance, aiming to kick his legs out from underneath him.

He sees her move coming with a calculated glance and takes a swipe at her before she could get close enough to execute it. She was barely able to register his fist before it had collided with the side of her head, sending her sprawled onto the padded flooring.

Dazed, Charlie blinked back the stinging tears that threatened at the surface as she looked upwards the tall ceiling. Her vision filled with O'Rourke's concerned face as he loomed over her, urgently asking her if she was alright.

"I'm fine…" She muttered as she took his outstretched hand, being carefully pulled back onto her feet.

"Maybe we should take a break." He told her, sweeping over her a raised eyebrow.

Charlie shakes off the shock at being floored, her right ear ringing slightly from the force that had taken her by surprise.

She waves a hand at his statement, not ready to take a break just yet. Being constantly involved in the exercise of combat and being pushed to her limits was keeping her out of her own thoughts.

O'Rourke looks skeptically at her as he takes a breath and stretches his back, Charlie could hear the clicking of his bones as he did so, wincing at the sound.

"You're not quitting me now, are you Chief?" She asked teasingly, readying herself back into an offensive position, balling her fists as she gives him a determined grin.

He smirks at her attitude, all concern leaving his face as he prepares himself into a similar position, lining himself up in front of her. Her perseverance was surprising him, her ability in combat had improved tenfold in their short hours together.

Adrenaline fuelled Charlie as she lunged towards him, her feet padded the floor with a soft sound as she directed a blow at his abdomen. The punch stuck and she could hear him let out a small grunt at her attack, she circled behind him in a tactic to put some distance between them. She was determined to not hit the floor again.

As O'Rourke turned to face her, Charlie had a flash of a vision; it blinded her so sharply that she almost stumbled. A horrifically familiar face appeared instead of the Chief's, its grey skin and raised markings on its face shook Charlie to her very core. In the blink of an eye, it was gone, leaving her stunned and cold.

She saw O'Rourke take an engaging step towards her, she recognised the beginning of a heavy footed attack and she raised her hands to deflect his kick with her shielded energy. Upon contact with him, she could see the barrier trembled at deflecting the attack, wavering slightly as she struggled to regain her composure.

The shock of seeing her captor, the damn beast who had caused her pain and suffering, had left Charlie feeling nauseous. She pushed the bile down, shaking her head slightly at the concept of what she had just seen.

 _No_ , she told herself, _stop it._ He was not here, there was no way he could be here. They had left her. She was _safe_.

Out of instinct, Charlie blocked the next few hard-hitting moves from him, noticing that her hands were shaking as she continuously pushed him backwards. She wanted to put more distance between the two of them, still taken aback by the flashing image that had pierced her vision.

She struggled to contain her thoughts, the memory of her being strapped down and defenseless clawed its way out, instilling Charlie with a strong sense of fear and panic. It flooded her nerves, drenching her in a cold sweat and leaving her breathless.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw O'Rourke approaching, or rather charging at her. He was unaware of her internal torment, 100% focused on his approach. Charlie raised her arms to protect herself, trying to summon the psionic force that she usually had no trouble with.

Instead, another image flashed in her mind, the disgruntled face of the brutish one who had punctured her in the chest with one of those lethal injections. He was sneering at her as she quickly approached her, his teeth bared menacingly.

Charlie gasped at the sight, her mind going blank in sheer panic at the traumatizing flashback. Her hands shook as they remained stretched outwards in a half hearted attempted to block him coming at her.

Then suddenly, he was gone, disappearing into the image of an alarmed O'Rourke as he collided into her at an alarming speed. The force of his running attack threw Charlie backwards, causing her to land painfully on her shoulder as she hit the padded wall a few feet behind her. Then it was lights out.

* * *

His morning hadn't been great so far, Bones recalled, as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Two more Crew members had come in complaining of various Cold symptoms, their snivelling and coughing was beginning to grate on the Doctor's nerves.

He wasn't sure how they had picked it up, but he would make damn sure that they couldn't pass it on to everyone else aboard this bloody ship.

Taking a fleeting glance at the Sickbay around him, he noted M'Benga had come in to help relieve his CMO after working overnight. Nurse Colewell was busy administering Hypospray's to his medical bays various occupants, trying to alleviate their headaches and lower their temperatures.

A commotion brought Bones' attention to the entrance, his stomach dropping at the sight of Charlie being carried in by the bulking Chief of Security. Snapping out of his surprise, he rushes over, concern written across his face as he comes to the realisation that she in unconscious in his arms.

"Over here." He barked at O'Rourke, motioning for him to carry her over to a nearby bed.

As he settled her gently on the Biobed, the two men caught each other's gaze and the Security Officer speaks quickly to the Doctor as he checks Charlie over.

"I didn't mean to hit her so hard...She completely blanked on me." The man explains in an urgent tone as Bones checks her pupil response, muttering curses under his breath.

Soaking this information in, he notices how pale Charlie's colouring appears to be. He was shocked to see her skin speckled with bruises, spotting the beginning of a rather nasty looking one on the side of her face.

"Charlie, can you hear me?" Bones asked, pulling out a nearby tricorder and began scanning her for injuries, willing her to regain consciousness.

"Did she hit her head?" The Doctor asked sternly, eyeing up the blossom of colour that was on her right cheek, hinting at a trauma to the head.

"Yeah...yeah she did, shortly before. I thought she was only winded, she seemed okay after. Although a bit dazed maybe..." The man in red surmised, his inept recount of what had happened was irking Bones to no end.

"Good God man, just tell me what happened."

* * *

So he did exactly that, replaying the activity that had taken place. Bones nodded at his recounting of their sparring session, surprised at the bubbling anger he felt in the pit of his stomach. Pushing it deep down, he tentatively touched on the offending shoulder he was advised broke her fall.

His tricorder had informed him that it was dislocated, but he wasn't willing to do anything further without her being awake and alert.

Bones was aware that a few of his other patients were curiously watching Sickbays newest patient. He swiftly informed M'Benga that the other Crew Members could probably go back to their own living quarters to rest and recuperate, seeing as they had already been given some analgesics for their symptoms.

With the Medical Bay now vacated of its sniffling occupants, Bones was able to focus on Charlie, who was beginning to come round.

"Easy there darlin'," He tried to soothe her as he saw her eyes widen upon regaining consciousness, she motioned to get up but visibly winced. Bones was aware of the pain she must be in, his stomach clenching tightly as Charlie groaned heavily, holding her limp arm.

"Get off of me! Don't touch me!" Her voice rang loud and clear, fear prominent in her tone as she cried out in pain. She appeared slightly disoriented as her eyes adjusted to the bright lights in Sickbay.

Concern grabbed at the Doctor as he remembered her influx on energy that simmered underneath, worried that her panic could cause her to lash out at him, his Sickbay staff stood scattered around, or even herself.

Bones hesitated, her hurt was pronounced but so was her terror. He wondered whether the blow to her head had caused a mild concussion, her disorientation and reaction to light certainly seemed to point in that direction.

He motioned for Nurse Colewell to get a Hypospray ready for Charlie, to manage the pain she seemed to be gritting her teeth through. Bones was not pleased about what he was going to have to do if she could not calm herself down, especially considering the past torturous experience she has been through.

"Charlie, listen to me. Charlie!" He raised his voice as she attempted to get off the Biobed, her thrashing must be making her injury worse and Bones was determined to calm her down.

He reached up to her face, holding it between his two hands. Her skin felt cold and clammy as she stilled beneath his touch, her green eyes were heavily dilated as she looked him in the eyes. A cold shiver ran through Bones at seeing her so dishevelled and tormented, but he brushed it away.

"I get that you're in pain sweetheart, but calm the _fuck_ down." His harsh words sank into Charlie, he saw it as she shuddered out a breath. He took a deep one too, thankful for her to stop thrashing wildly about.

"I'm going to give you some pain relief now, so how's about you don't go making my job any harder than necessary." Continuing with his brash technique, which seemed to be working, he took his hands away from her face. Nurse Colewell handed him a the Hypospray, then gave the two Doctors some room with their tentative patient.

Charlie's gaze was wary as she watched him spray her with the device, the relief immediately evident on her face as the anaesthetic was administered. Her breathing was still laboured and Bones' attention was drew to her painful looking disjointed shoulder.

"Now I'm gonna need to fix that damn shoulder of yours, so you'll have to bear with me, okay?" She blinked a few times before hesitantly nodding, biting at her lip as she watched him be handed the device from M'Benga.

It was an Osteotractor Frame, a handy little device was shaped like a glove so that it could latch onto the injury and pop the shoulder correctly into place. It could sometimes be painful, depending on the patient, thus the need for a mild pain relief.

He hesitated as he held it, giving Charlie a careful glance as she breathed in slow, staggered breaths. He notice her clutching at the bed sheets with her hand, the panic beginning to rise.

With a thoughtful decision, he hands it back to M'Benga and advises him to be the one to fix Charlie's shoulder. He gives Bones a startled look as he moves beside Charlie, offering out his hand in a manner for her to hold.

She gives him a confused look, glancing between him and the strange device that was being place on her injured shoulder. She looked frightened, her stubbornness fading as she let go of the crumpled sheets from her clenched hand.

"This may hurt." Bones told her, voice low and void of any snarky comment. That got her attention, and she made the decision to grab his hand with her own.

As the device made a warning beep, Bones looked into Charlie's eyes, hoping that he was giving her a reassuring look instead of the impassive glares he so naturally gave out.

He heard her shoulder pop in a sickening manner, he also heard the pained gasp that she emitted. But it was overshadowed by the tight grip that she held his hand with, knuckles turning white momentarily from the strain of endurance.

He'd held onto Charlie's hand a few seconds after she had passed out, but the cold glare that he had given M'Benga ensured that he wouldn't breathe a word about it to anyone.

* * *

She woke up with a start, flashes of medical equipment and grim faces blurred her memories and she wasn't sure where they were from. With a slow realisation, Charlie became aware that she was in Sickbay, its familiar walls and beds were an odd comfort to her now.

"Rise and shine, darlin'." Came a Southern drawl to her right side.

Bones had been relaxed back on the chair, but was now leaning forwards as she turned to face him. He looked somewhat irritated as she motioned to sit up in the bed, which she regretting almost immediately.

Dull pain seeps into her bones, primarily coming from her head and shoulder, but the rest of her ached with a fierceness as well.

"Good grief woman, can't you see you're injured?" He scolded her, motioning for her to lay back down.

But Charlie was too busy trying to piece together her recollection of getting to Sickbay. Her mind scrabbling at jumbled images of defensive and attacking moves, O'Rourke's face a flurry as they had sparred.

With a sickening remembrance, Charlie had a flash of the face she thought she had seen; the face of the man that had captured her, tortured her on that goddamn ship, causing her to become a wreck. Panic pickled at her as she tried to remember how the session had ended, instead she was met with bleak darkness.

"O'Rourke…" Charlie started to say, concern growing at her at the thought that she had lost control upon having those flashbacks. _Oh God, what if I hurt him?_

"That damn idiot is fine." Bones informs her with a gruff tone, rolling his eyes. Relief washed over her then and she nodded, grateful for her not having hurt anyone.

"He's a bit bruised and banged up from your session, but nowhere near as badly as you."

She looked away from the Doctor then, feeling her head throbbing slightly and flusteredly noticing the sparse spotting of bruises that were currently on her arms.

"I can't remember…" Her voice felt small and frail, and Charlie didn't like that. She stopped mid-sentence, avoiding eye contact with the Doctor beside her as she notices that there was no one else in the Sickbay bar the two of them.

"That'd be because of the concussion, sweetheart." His sarcastic tone drew Charlie's gaze.

A faint memory of pain exploding in her shoulder caused her to reach a hand up to touch it, an odd ache simmering beneath her skin in a warm fashion.

"That lump of muscle also managed to dislocate your shoulder. He's probably getting chewed out by Jim as we speak." He tutted as if in annoyance by the Chief of Security, but Charlie couldn't help but feel overwhelmingly guilty at the situation.

"It was all my fault." She spoke, her voice barely above a whisper but she knew Bones had heard her as he had leant in upon hearing her words.

She was struggling, a familiar pressure building inside, as she looked down at her hands. Tears fell down her cheeks and onto the sheets as Charlie tried to keep herself together, realising all too quickly that she was falling apart.

"I keep seeing them…" She explains through the tears rolling down her face, avoid I looking directly into his eyes as she breaks. "Their faces...I see them sometimes, when I sleep. But today I saw one of them as we were practising, and I just...froze."

Charlie could see Bones out of the corner of her eyes, watching his concerned gaze soften a fraction at her silent cries. She tried to reign it back in but it was like a crack had appeared in a dam, plugging it was going to be near impossible.

It wounded her to say the words out loud, she felt as though she was losing all of the pretence she had managed to build for herself since coming to this surreal world.

"I can still remember the smell of that place."

* * *

Bones adjusts himself on the seat as he witnesses the unfolding scene before him. She had quietly erupted in emotion as she explained what had caused her to blank in the face of O'Rourke's sparring attack, and it had subdued him.

To be honest, he had been expecting this unloading far sooner to her rescue from capture, but the girl had held on so damn tightly to her trauma that he had been worried about her needing a release.

That had been when he had voiced to Kirk that it would may be beneficial for Charlie to be able to be competently trained by their Chief of Security. He wanted to recall back his recommending words upon seeing her breaking down in tears but a small mindful part reminded Bones that this was what Charlie had needed to overcome.

He had been told many times in his life that his bedside manner was severely lacking, it hadn't much bothered him previously but he had no snarky comment or quick witted comeback for this situation. So hesitantly, he reaches for her hand again, unsure of what comfort he was able to provide for her.

Surprisingly, she accepts it with a reassuringly firm grip and Bones can't help but remember how tight her grip had been when she had been in pain earlier. The comparison reminded Bones of just how much fear was still with Charlie, even through her guarded exterior.

Bones waited as her cries began to soften, watching with interest at her reaction to the emotional barrier she had broken.

"I know you ain't gonna want to hear this, but I'm gonna make sure you hear every word." His voice is low and serious as he remains holding her hand, feeling her thrumming pulse beneath his fingertip was an oddly reassuring feeling.

Her eyes were wet and looked exhausted, but Bones persevered, locking into her gaze with a firmness.

"You've been through something pretty goddamn traumatic. To come out of it at all is a damn miracle. So how's about you cut the crap you appear to be determined on giving yourself, and remember that you are _only human_."

Stressing his last words had affected Charlie, he saw her slowly exhale a breath as she regards him with a curious look.

"Am I?"

Her questions stuns Bones, and a second passes, then two. His brows furrowed as he momentarily wonders why she had even asked, but then it dawns on him: she wasn't even sure if she was, due to the experimentation with her DNA.

"Just because some bat-shit crazy Cardassian scientists decided to splice some Alien DNA with yours, does not mean you are any less of a Human." He attempts to reassure her, deciding to give an additional, "even if you are practically from the Stone Ages, and happen to have some crazy ass ability."

A hint of a smile tweaks at Charlie's mouth as he speaks, Bones absentmindedly grips her hand a fraction tighter, as though to enforce his point.

The door to Sickbay opens, causing the two of them to release each others hand, looking to see Kirk walking in rather speedily, a rueful look on his face.

"I know I told O'Rourke to not go easy on you, but I'm afraid I have to draw the line somewhere." His friendly smile does the inevitable, as Charlie's face brightens with a tired looking smile.

Bones watches as his friend strolls up to them, noticing his cautious glance at Charlie's tear stained face and how close the Doctor had been sat to her.

Getting up from his seat, Bones decides to take this intrusion as a chance to monitor Charlie's vitals. With his Tricorder, Bones scans over her as Kirk takes his seat, a reassuring expression on his face as he delicately asks Charlie how she was feeling.

She nervously glances at Bones for a hesitant second, no doubt weighing her options of what to respond with. But he wasn't going to reply on her behalf, curious as to what answer she would give the Captain.

"...Still feeling a bit fragile." She says carefully, giving Kirk an earnest gaze.

Bones avoided giving either of them eye contact as he finished with evaluating Charlie's vitals, but he made a mental note to talk to Kirk in a more private setting once she was asleep.

They hadn't had to wait too long, it turned out. After Bones had made sure that Charlie was no longer suffering from her concussion, nor any grievous pain from her shoulder, he had given her another dose of mild pain relief with the small side effect of sedation.

Charlie had managed to slip out a thankful response before succumbing to a dreamless sleep, Bones had wanted to make sure that she would not be entertained with recurring flashbacks from her fearful ordeal.

* * *

"So," Kirk began, as he settled himself down into the chair in Bones' Office, "how is she really?"

"She's coping as well as you would expect Jim. Maybe that idea to involve O'Rourke had been a mistake-" He's cut off by Kirk, who shakes his head with reverence.

"No, it was a good idea Bones. She needed to vent, I just hadn't expected her to get injured in the process." He looked down at the floor in a thoughtful expression.

"Well I'll be damned Jim, I dont think you've ever given credit to one of my ideas before." His sark caused Kirk to roll his eyes at the Doctor, not wanting to rise to the bait that was dangled in front of him. A second passes between them in the silent room before Kirk breaks it.

"Should I be worried?" The Captain asks his friend, his tone low and serious. It causes Bones to give him an unusually sympathetic look.

"No, I don't think so. We've been waiting for this to happen since we first bought her aboard, better it happens now rather than in front of those high up bastards."

He jutted out his chin at the mention of their Starfleet superiors, the one that always managed to keep their feet comfortably behind the safety of their desks. Kirk raised his eyebrows at his remark, smiling slightly at his chosen words.

"Those 'bastards' are the ones that will ultimately decide what happens to her." He reminds the Doctor, carefully watching his expression changed from mildly irritated to a somewhat simmered calm.

"Those Officials down at Yorktown couldn't find their asses with both hands in their back pockets."

Kirk couldn't help but let out a laugh at the Southerner's insult. He was always amused when Bones slipped into one of his Georgian mannerisms, especially after a few well-deserved drinks.

The CMO looked at his friend as he leant back against his desk, rubbing at his tired eyes as he looks around at the state his Office had been in. A few cups of half drank coffee were scattered haphazardly, evidence of the Doctor having been on shift for more than his regulated hours.

"Seriously Bones, when did you last get some decent sleep?" Kirk asks, glancing around in mock horror at the surroundings. Bones made a sound that was something between a scoff and a chuckle.

"Probably when we last had our feet planted firmly on the damn ground." Came the inevitable grumble response.

"I'll call M'Benga to stay and look after Charlie. I'm going to need you with me in Yorktown tomorrow, but right now you look like shit."

"Did you ever think this is just how I naturally look now, what with flying around in some steel death trap?"

Kirk doesn't dignify him with a response, although his lips did twitch into a sly grin. He waits for Doctor M'Benga to arrive to the Office, and orders his Chief Medical Office to head back his own quarters.

With a disgruntled remark, Bones reluctantly leaves the vicinity of Sickbay with his Captain following suit. He spares a glance over at Charlie's huddled form as she lay on her Biobed, her rested form a damn sight better than when she had been brought in.

Back in his own bed, Bones somehow manages to get a couple of hours sleep. But for some reason, the image of Charlie being brought in unconscious was particularly stained in his mind.

* * *

 **Next chapter will be up sooner, due to having a long awaiting 4 day weekend. Wishing you all a great Easter break!**


	7. Liberty

"You know, I still think the place looks like a damn snow globe just waiting to break."

Charlie doesn't look at Bones as he grumbles beside her, she was too busy looking out of the large windows by Sickbay in a stunned stupor.

The sight had her undivided attention, intricate winding metal that looped inwards and around like rings, encased in some sort of atmospheric shield, as if protecting itself from the deep darkness of Space.

"What is this place?" She asks as the ship draws closer, not taking her eyes off of the strange structure.

"It's Starfleet's newest Starbase, though it's a damn monstrosity if you ask me." He said, as if that explained everything.

"So...it's like one giant Space Station?" Her question caused Bones to give a wry smile at her generalisation.

She still was not 100% brought up to speed on the innings of Starfleet, or much else in this completely bizarre world she hand landed in. Admittedly, she hadn't read up on it much after she had made the upsetting decision to look up about her brother, she wasn't exactly thrilled to continue down that dark road.

"You'd better not call it that while we're down there darlin', might raise a few eyebrows." Bones gave a small laugh, but she noticed the apprehension that lay behind it.

Not much had been said between the two of them after her mild breakdown last night but she did see him throwing her the occasional glance when he thought she wasn't looking. She didn't want to feel like she was made of glass, as if any small thing could trigger her, but the flashing episode she'd had yesterday had set her back a few paces.

She had woken with the other Doctor, M'Benga, milling about the Sickbay and re-stocking several cabinets. He had greeted her warmly, letting her get washed and changed before Kirk had appeared alongside a nonchalant looking Bones.

The Captain had briefed Charlie on their upcoming arrival into Yorktown, attempting to soothe her nerves of the impending meeting with their superiors. Kirk had then left her with Bones as he headed off towards the Bridge, communicating to his Crew in preparation to enter and dock.

The ball of nervousness tightens in her stomach as they approached the vastly impressive entrance to the Starfleet base, a few seconds passing before the Enterprise is permitted to slowly ease inside.

Charlie wasn't sure what she had expected, having nothing to compare this surreal experience to, but what she was greeted with was so incredible that she wasn't even aware that her hands were now stretched out onto the window before her, angling to get a better view.

She was brought through an impressive display of a high-tech city as the Enterprise moved slowly forwards, the sharp and angular buildings looking sleek and shiny in the sunlight. Yep, that's right. _Sunlight_.

The vision was sort of dazzling, considering the last few days her surroundings have been the sheer dark canvas of Space; she welcomed this bright and beautiful place. Charlie looked outwards to the gleaming city and its occupants as if she were child visiting somewhere new for the first time. Bones speaking at her side tugged her attention reluctantly from gazing out to this new world.

"Let's get this damn show on the road then."

* * *

Bones had witnessed the smile widening across Charlie's face as she gazes out to the bustling metropolis of Yorktown, their exit from the docked Enterprise ship had come with a heavy buzz from the city. It was a stark contrast to the quietness onboard the ship.

His anxiety for the situation they were facing was blanketed softly by seeing her eyes lighting up, the new surroundings having an extremely positive response on her.

"What do you think?" Kirk beamed at Charlie as they walked through the bustling plaza, people of various races criss-crossing around them, in the midst of their daily routines.

"This _definitely_ doesn't look like a Space Station." She exclaimed, her tone light humoured as she throws Bones a playful look.

"Yorktown is actually Starfleet's newest and most advanced Starbase. It currently holds several million beings from across the Universe, as well as-" Spock pipes up from besides Kirk, his monotone voice shortly interrupted by Bones.

"They've done a decent job of fixing it up after our last visit."

His words cause Charlie to look curiously around the centre of Yorktown, as if coming to a realisation.

"Is this where you guys had to fight off that Krill guy?" She asks them, cautiously gauging their surprised reactions.

"Krall." Kirk corrects her, his expression clouds over at the remembrance of the hostile threat that had attempted to take millions of lives. "How do you know about that?"

"I've heard things." Charlie replies, almost sheepishly. Bones shakes his head in an annoyed manner, no doubt knowing who she had heard it from.

"You've been spending too much time with Nurse Colewell." He tells her, but the small smile on his lips advised Charlie that he wasn't irritated about it at all.

As they approached Starfleet Headquarters, its intimidating structure caused Charlie to crane her neck up, shielding her eyes as the light shines off its reflective surface. There were a lot of people of various races gathered around the entrance, an array of coloured skins clash as Bones takes a mindful step closer to Charlie, wanting to ensure no risk of her becoming separated.

Entering the building, Kirk spoke to one of the few attendants milling around, advising them of their meeting. They were then instructed to follow a woman dressed in a fashionable white suit to a set of fancy looking lifts, where she entered a five digit code, causing the doors to sweep open soundlessly.

Bones couldn't stop nervously glancing at Charlie, the soft humming of the lift filling the atmosphere tensely. Seconds pass as they all stood, silently, feeling the weight of the oncoming congregation. Kirk gave the Doctor a thoughtful expression just as the doors slid open, revealing a wide open room bathed in sunlight.

"Commodore Paris will be with you shortly." The woman informs them as they step out of the lift. She taps at the console again, disappearing within the high tech lift and leaving the four of them standing in the brightly lit room with its impressive tall ceilings and white washed walls.

Looking down at Charlie, Bones can see the nervousness pooling in her eyes as she scans these new surroundings, the clinical feel of the room only causing her to worry more. He also noticed Charlie's hands as she clenches and unclenches them, wiping the dampness into her black trousers to hide her mounting anxiety.

He briefly worried about her ability making an abrupt appearance, but kept the concern to himself in an effort as to not give her any more reason to panic.

"You okay?" Kirk asks her, noticing the apprehension as well.

Charlie gives the three men a nervous glance, stepping towards Kirk in in private manner and whispering a response that Bones could barely hear.

"I, uh...there's something I need to tell you. Yesterday, with Lieutenant O'Rourke, I..." Her hushed voice trails off as she struggled to find her words, almost avoiding his gaze. Buyt Kirk gives her a reassuring touch on her shoulder, causing her to look directly at him.

"Don't worry about it. I already know...It changes nothing." His gentle smile accompanies his soothing words, it coaxes Charlie into taking a deep sigh of relief, her eyes glancing over to Bones where he stood.

Towards the end of the room, near the large window looking out onto the city below, a set of double doors open and two figures walk in. Their footsteps echoed in the minimalistic room, drawing all of their attentions and causing Spock to stand firmer to attention with his hands behind his back.

"Commodore Paris." Kirk identifies the woman, his voice friendly yet authoritative as he regards her.

"Captain Kirk," The woman with dark hair nods to him on her approach, "this is Senior Captain Osmond, my second in command here in Yorktown." She continued, introducing the smaller gentleman to her side, smiling at Bones and Spock before resting her eyes on Charlie.

"As you're aware, Miss Cassidy is the sole survivor of the Cardassian ship that we came across in the further quadrants. There were multiple fatalities on board, of which the bodies have been stored on the Enterprise, for evidence against their experimental crimes."

The woman nods, her face stern with acknowledgment of what Charlie had been put through, the loss of life taken by the lawless Cardassians had caused a ripple across Starfleet's pond.

"I will arrange for someone from our Headquarters to retrieve the unfortunate fatalities from your ship, Captain. On behalf of Starfleet, I apologise for the despicable events that have led you here to us, Miss Cassidy."

Her voice carried a powerful tone as she locked eyes with Charlie, her apology for the torturous beginning she'd had with this world did little soften the blow she had already been dealt with.

Bones wanted to scoff at the conversation, but bit his tongue as he saw Charlie shuffle where she stood, no doubt remembering her abduction from her home and the suffering she had endured.

"Where do you stand, Captain, on obtaining the criminal degenerates who flout their experimental activities?" The man called Osmond asks, his voice harsh and abrasive like a bark.

Kirk looks to Spock, the two of them sharing a look in response to the Senior Captain's question.

"We were able to study the scripted logs and data entries that were scavenged from the Cardassian ship. Unfortunately they have an alarming collection of technology we were not aware that they had access to, along with some troublesome evidence that informs us of their regular trading within the Intergalactic Black Market."

Spock steps forwards as he speaks to the two Starfleet Officials, his cool demeanour as he explains their findings sends a shiver down the Doctors spine. Commodore Paris raises her eyebrows at this news, looking between Spock and Kirk interestingly.

"Do you have any leads for their capture? We must ensure that they are brought to trial for their crimes." She asks them, but the two men reluctantly shake their heads.

"These bastards are smart, Commodore. They've managed to slip through the cracks, back to whatever hole they've crawled out of." Kirk replies, shifting his feet as he looks warily at Charlie.

"However, we have heard rumours of where these Cardassians could be hiding: somewhere within the Black Market trade routes centered around Cardassia Prime. We may have a lead on a source from Bajor, but have yet to find anything useful."

Bones sees Charlie look to Kirk upon hearing those words, her mind probably whirling with this information of her captors. She hadn't been told anything else about them, bar the name of their race. Bones had wanted to keep her out of the loop for as long as was necessary, Kirk hadn't agreed with him on that particular point but it fell to the CMO to deem what was best for Charlie as his patient.

Commodore Paris thanks Kirk for this information, giving Charlie a concerned expression as she looks back to their Captain.

"Your report mentioned the DNA splicing that had occured with young Miss Cassidy here, concluding in...uh, well, some abnormalities, shall we say?"

The Doctor did scoff at that one. He also noticed Charlie's head snap up upon hearing her mention of the unexpected side effects from the genetic modification she had been subjected to. Knowing that all eyes were on her must be causing her nervous energy to go through the roof, Bones thought with a frown.

He could only hope and pray that she managed to refrain from expelling any unwanted psionic energy, the worry was causing the Doctor to glance between Charlie and the two Starfleet superiors.

"Miss Cassidy has been subject to a rather barbaric use of Ocampian DNA experimentation, resulting in her demonstrating some rare form of psionic ability." Bones decides to finally provide some input, looking directly to the two Officials in front of him, who glance at each other in unspoken concern.

"Perhaps it would be best for Miss Cassidy to demonstrate this unique ability?" The Senior Captain Osmond motions with a waving of his hand in Charlie's general direction.

Bones was beginning to be irked by the man, his grey and thinning hair showing his slightly scaled skin beneath, small yellow circles encasing his scalp and trailing off down to his neck. He hadn't met many Talaxians in his life but he'd heard stories of how joyful and happy-go-lucky their demeanours usually were.

This one hasn't appeared to have received the memo, his features looking harsher and projected an almost utilitarian manner. Bones chalked it down to the stress of working for Starfleet and therefore the Federation of United Planets; perhaps the pressure had washed away at his friendly demeanour.

A nod from Kirk caught Bones' attention, he noticed that Charlie was looking hesitantly between the two of them for some sign of approval. She releases a slow breath upon their Captain's response to her unasked question, flexing her fingers as she glances between the two authoritative figures in front of her.

With a trembling breath, the Doctor witnessed Charlie create a wall between Commodore Paris, Senior Captain Osmond and herself. The hazy yellow barrier she was projecting was stronger than he had seen her make before, it looking more dense and powerful than he had remembered.

 _She must have been practising a lot,_ he thought to himself.

The two Officials looked visibly stunned at this presentation of Charlie's ability, a brief second fall in over them in a hush. It was then that Bones could hear Spock mutter something under his breath as he regards Charlie, it dawned on the Doctor that this was the first time Spock had seen her use of force for himself.

Commodore Paris brought a hand hesitantly up to the barrier, barely touching the edge of the wall Charlie had created, a buzzing sound making her withdraw her reach in in warning fashion.

"Fascinating…" She said, eyes scanning over the thick shield between herself and Charlie.

The older man beside the Commodore seemed immensely intrigued as well, his gaze switching between Charlie and the blockade between them. He too brought a hand up to the vision before him, but brings it swiftly down again after a brief pause.

In the next second, it disappears, leaving behind Charlie with measured quick breaths. On instinct Bones steps closer beside her, a hand gently placed on her forearm in an inquisitive manner. She reassures him with a smile, waving off his concern as he asks her if she is okay.

A moment passes, silence filling the space between them all, but it was shortly broken.

"Well...that is definitely a peculiar predicament." The Commodore states, giving Charlie a small smile as she looks over her with a renewed interest. She decides to add, "now we must attend to the matter of what to do with you, my dear."

Her words sink into Bones, his stomach feeling like it might sink into the floor. It was ridiculous to be this nervous on Charlie's behalf, he knew that, but it didn't stop him studiously watching the impact the words had on her. She looked a lot smaller to him then, standing in front of the people who would decide on her fate.

"With all due respect, Commodore, I believe I have a plan that would be beneficial for both Miss Cassidy and Starfleet." Kirk took a step forward, his own hands brought behind his back as he steps beside Charlie.

Bones looked to his friend, his suspicion on what he was going to say next was validated by the quick glance he threw at the Doctor.

"I propose to have her stay on board the Enterprise for the duration of our remaining two year Mission."

His words brought a small smile to Bones' face, knowing his friend all too well, witnessing Spock look at Kirk in utter surprise. His smile was then wiped off by the bewildered glances they were receiving by their superiors.

"Surely you cannot be serious-" Osmond pulls an incredulous look at Kirk.

Irritation flashes through Bones at the Senior Captain's scoff, although his uncertain tone was cut off by his more Senior colleague as she holds her hand up to him. She gives Kirk a curious expression, regarding him as she looks hesitantly between all four of them.

"I have been informed of your prior unconventional methods, but this seems especially unorthodox. What would be your reasoning behind this plan, Captain?" She asks him with genuine interest, crossing her hands in front of her.

Bones glances to his friend, who stands just a little bit taller at having a chance at explaining the reasoning to his supposed madness.

"Miss Cassidy has been torn from the only world she has known, leaving everything behind. We are not aware of there being a way to safely and securely send her back; she has been left here through no fault of her own."

Kirk takes a breath, exchanging glances with Charlie as she looks on at him in a masked expression. He continues on after clearing his throat.

"Everything in this world is foreign and strange to her but I believe it would be extremely beneficial to have her stay with us for the duration of our mission in Space. She would be able to learn more about this world and we would be able to help her control and understand the ability she has become estranged with."

"The fact of the matter is that Miss Cassidy should have been turned over to Starfleet Federation upon her discovery. This whole situation is highly irregular!" The Senior Captain Osmond exclaims, his voice appearing a pitch higher in agitation.

Spock interjects then, his intense eyes on Commodore Paris as he take a take a step beside Kirk.

"As I'm sure you're aware, Starfleet General Order 9 stipulates that a commanding Officer may grant an individual political asylum without first being given express permission to do so by a member of the Federation government. Perhaps, given these rather peculiar circumstances, Miss Cassidy could be put forward to the Starfleet Academy in an effort to further her progression into society, once the Enterprise's two year mission has completed."

Bones had to hand it to the green-blooded bastard, that sounded like a damn convincing argument. He wondered if the Commodore thought so too, as she looked speculatively between the four of them.

"What is your professional opinion on Miss Cassidy's situation, Doctor McCoy? Do you believe that this would be the most proactive approach for all involved?" Her tone wasn't sharp but it cut through Bones all the same, so without hesitation he responds to her.

"I believe she has shown promising growth in learning as much of this world as she can, becoming adaptable to the surreal situation she has now found herself in." Taking a breath, Bones decides to add to his comment.

"Charlie has already established a trusting relationship with crew members aboard the Enterprise, a small feat considering the events that have brought her here."

It was in the mildly surprised reaction on the Commodore's face, that Bones realised his small slip up in speaking his patient's first name. He nervously glanced down to the brightly tiled flooring before back up to the Commodore as she regarded them all with a final look.

"Well, Miss Cassidy, it appears that the crew of the Enterprise wish to accept you on board their vessel for their remaining time in deep space. It is a highly irregular notion, considering the strict protocols Starfleet have in place." She raises her eyebrows as she speaks to Charlie, tilting her head slightly as she gives her an evaluative look.

"Exactly my point, Commodore Paris! This girl should be stationed here for-" The Talaxian motions to move between Charlie and his superior Office, but is thankfully shut down by her simply holding her hand up to him again, in one swift move.

" _However_ ," she emphasizes, giving the man an intimidating look that makes him take a step backwards, "if Captain Kirk and his council are willing to take responsibility for you as an adopted member of their Crew, Starfleet support their decision."

Letting the words sink in, Bones swears he hears Charlie gasp beside him. He looks between her stunned expression, to Kirk's grinning face.

"Thank you, Commodore." He beams at her and she gives a smile in response, aiming it in the direction of Charlie.

"Thank you, so much." She speaks finally, the words falling from her as she too smiles broadly, all concern void from her face. A cry of disbelief emits from the man besides the Commodore, as he take a step closer to her.

"Surely you cannot be serious, Commodore Paris? Perhaps we should abstain from any rash decisions-"

"You forget yourself, Senior Captain Osmond," she interrupts him once again, her shoulders tense as she regards the smaller man besides her. Continuing, she says, "please ensure you keep us informed of any progress with the capture of these criminals."

With a final affirmative nod to them all, Commodore Paris turns and exits through the same door she had entered. The scaled man casts a nervous glance to where Charlie stood, sighing heavily as he too turns and exits the room.

It wasn't long after the door had been sharply shut, that Kirk turned to Charlie and gave her one of his winning grins.

"Guess you're stuck with us now, kid."

* * *

She was being handed a glass of something brightly coloured by Kirk as they stood in the large bar area, some sort of strange music playing in the background.

"Consider this a congratulations." He winks playfully at her as he watches her tentatively sniff at the drink.

It was bright blue and the smell reminded her of some kind of berry, she hesitantly takes a sip as Kirk watches her with avid interest. The taste, being like nothing she had ever had before, made her eyes light up in reaction, swallowing the drink that went down so sweetly.

"Wow…" She said, eyeing up the frosted drink in her hand with a keen eye.

"I wasn't sure on what your poison of choice would be, but you can't go wrong with a little Sapphire Wine." He's grinning at her now, clinking his own glass with hers.

She couldn't hide the smile that broadens on her face as she ponders over its name. It reminded her of something she and her friends had gotten tipsy on when she had turned 18, but the memory leaves a bad taste in her mouth so she takes a larger sip of her drink this time.

Looking around the bar area, Charlie felt a hell of a lot more relaxed than she had been in that room. Those intimidating figures had caused her to go cold from the moment they had stepped in, she had practically frozen in place as they had approached and conversed.

It had also taken a lot of effort to keep calm under their scrutinous gaze, she had felt her pulse thrumming in her ears as her heartbeat had raced. She had been sure that the others must have heard it at as well, but no one had mentioned it.

Charlie hadn't expected for them to have said what they did, their words had soothed her rattled nerves as they each defended her. They had fought for her right to stay with them, on board the Enterprise, and the relief had flooded her. It had poured right down into her toes, that long lost warmth of happiness. It echoed in the dark places she had been lately, of where she had felt small and helpless, and now she could feel it radiating.

"I heard the good news!" A familiar voice rang in Charlie's ear, breaking her out of her thoughts.

Nell was smiling widely at her as she approached, nodding a hello at Kirk who was still beside Charlie. He excuses himself with a wry grin and heads over to a table of other Crew members from the Enterprise, who had turned up at the bar area a short while ago.

Charlie smiled at the woman, her energy as bright as the flaming copper hair that was currently framing her face. She noticed that the Nurse had managed to change into a more casual outfit, Charlie was slightly jealous as she stood in her rather bland attire of grey and black.

"You must have been so nervous! What was the Commodore like? I've heard she can be a real battleaxe." Her light tone made Charlie grin, but she shook her head at the woman's statement. She remembered how the woman with dark hair had looked at her with sheer curiosity, but her smile had been so genuine and her apology had certainly felt sincere.

However, the man that had been with the Commodore, the one named Osmond, had made Charlie's scalp prickle. He had looked at her with such distrust that Charlie had been sure that she was going to be dragged out of that room with her hands in cuffs, preparing to be poked and prodded at.

"Nell, you can't say shit like that around Yorktown." M'Benga appears, handing a tall glass of a pale pink mixture to the Nurse. She looks unashamedly at him as she takes a long drink, his words having no effect on her.

"Am glad to hear you'll be stay in with us a bit longer, Charlie. But how's about you try to stay out of the Sickbay for just a short while?" He smiles at her as he take a sip from his own drink, casting her with a comically admonished look.

A blush threatens to rise to her cheeks at the mention of her frequent trips to the Medical Bay, Charlie notices Nell watching her coyly over the rim of her now empty glass.

"Anyone fancy another?" The brazen Nurse asks, eyeing them both suspiciously.

M'Benga shakes his head in an firm 'no' as he holds onto his full glass protectively. Charlie, however, was not so safe. Upon realising that her glass was empty too, Nell grabs hold of her hand and informs her that it was now time for Round 2.

The Doctor lets out a tired sigh as he tuts at the woman's actions, but Charlie was under the impression that this wasn't a regular enough occurrence for them to be able to enjoy a few sociable drinks.

"Damnit Nell, don't go getting the new girl drunk. She's only just been allowed to stay with us. Let's not mentally scar her more."

"D'you know, this is the one damn place in this quadrant that still manages to serve Romulan Ale?" Bones mutters in disbelief to his Captain, as he hands him a glass of the aforementioned blue beverage.

Scotty raises his own glass of the drink at the Doctor's words, no doubt thankful that Starbase Yorktown hadn't managed to ban the stuff yet. It could be quite lethal, when consumed more than a couple of times. Which is why the Scotsman appreciated it so much, and also why Kirk always made a request for it whenever he could.

Bones, however, stuck with his trusted Bourbon, relieved to know that there was some decent Earth based drinks on the menu. Chekov was already on his third Draylaxian Whiskey, the young lad appearing to have no response to the large amounts of alcohol in his system. _Damn Russian bastard_ , he thought.

"She seems like the weight of the world is off her shoulders." Kirk says in a low voice so that only Bones could hear him, the bar's music drowning it out for the others.

The Doctor looks over at Charlie, who was currently being pulled to the bar by the Nurse Colewell, a broad smile on her face as M'Benga reluctantly joins them. Kirk was right, Bones thought as he twirled his glass of Bourbon in hand. This was the most alive he'd seen her since they had first come across her aboard the Cardassian ship.

Bones watched as Charlie was handed another drink by the Nurse, then being introduced to several other Crew members who were stood with their own drinks. He recognised a few of them as Science Officers but wasn't able to name any of them.

He could have asked Spock, but the damn Vulcan was off at another table with Lieutenant Uhura, and Bones didn't have the balls to walk in on their intimate moment.

"She's gonna have to be damn careful with those drinks. I reckon they're bit stronger than anything she's used to on Earth." He advises Kirk, who simply rolls his eyes.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," he responds as he watches the girl in question, before adding, "but if not, thankfully there's a Doctor nearby, right?"

Kirk laughs as Bones reluctantly tore his eyes away from where Charlie was stood at the bar, taking a large gulp of the burning liquid and decided to change the subject sharply.

"You told the Commodore that you had a lead from Bajor, to track down those bastards. Was that true Jim?" The Doctor asks, as the others sat at the table listen to him. Kirk drinks his damn Romulan Ale, pursing his mouth at the strength of the stuff.

"They're a bit of a loose cannon, but it's worth a shot. There's not many valuable sources when it comes to the Black Markets." He informs the Doctor, glancing around the interior of the bar.

"That Senior Captain didn't seem be too pleased with letting Charlie come with us, that damn bastard probably wanted to drag her off to God knows where-"

"Bones, how's about you shut your damn mouth and go and get another round? Enjoy having your feet planted solidly on the ground for once!" Kirk laughs at his friend, having watched him get riled up over a lot less, for a hell of a lot longer.

Grumbling a curse under his breath, the Doctor begrudgingly asks the other two guys at the table if they'd want another, before heading up to the bar.

"You might wanna slow down, sweetheart."

A Southern drawl pulls Charlie's attention away from slyly people watching. Bones has appeared beside her at the bar, an amused grimace on his face as he regards her drink in hand.

Nell and M'Benga nod an awkward hello in his direction as they filter through the crowd of people that were now scattered around the bar, offering her wry smiles as they retreat.

"I'll have you know that I have been training my liver since I was 16. It's done well to prepare me for later life." Charlie retorts back to him as she decides that this new concoction was now her favourite, it was definitely stronger and wasn't on the lighter spectrum of the colour chart.

He chuckles at her, shaking his head in a berating fashion.

"Wow darlin', 16? Your parents must have been so proud." His own smile falters after he notices Charlie's disappear. The mention of her family had been a slip, she knew that, but it didn't lessen the sting she felt at remembering them.

"Sorry sweetheart, I didn't mean to rain on the parade." Bones said after a moment, his tone was as low as his gaze was, as he glanced down at his feet.

She wasn't sure if it was the fact that she was now being considered a part of their Crew, or the several stiff drinks she'd had (although she'd probably have bet on it being the latter), but she reached out and placed a hand on his arm.

"Tell you what, I'll forgive you if you buy me a drink." She smiles at him to let him know that there was no harm and no foul in his slip of the tongue. He gives her a concerned look as he watches her drink the remaining liquid in her glass, a small hint of a smile appear in in in corner of his mouth.

One of the bartenders appear in front of them just as Charlie places her glass down. They were dressed in a deep plum colour shirt that went well with their dark brown colouring. The man asks what they'd like and Bones begins to recant his order, pausing momentarily at Charlie.

"...and another one of whatever the hell she's just had ." He says with a shrug, causing Charlie to raise her eyebrows in amusement.

As the barman turns his back on the two of them to make the request of drinks, Charlie regards the Doctor with a curious look, the alcohol in her system definitely making her feel braver.

"Thank you, for what you said in there." She tells him, watching the reaction in his face as looks at her earnestly.

"It's all true darlin'. You've had a lot of shit to deal with, but you've coped."

Charlie pulls a face, remembering yesterday's events as she tentatively touched at her shoulder.

"Ain't no shame in having a moment, kid." He tells her, paying the bartender as he hands over a variety of different drinks on a tray.

Charlie bristles at his comment, more annoyed at the nickname than anything else.

"I'm not a kid." She looks at him direct, lifting her chin as if in defiance.

Admittedly, she had let the rollercoaster of emotions wash over her from the last few days, but now she could feel it being released from her as she stood in the bar with these people who had taken her in. The paranoia, doubt and confusion had worn away at her since she had woken on board the Enterprise, now Charlie was finally beginning to feel some sense of ease.

So, taking her drink off the bar with a small smile, she explains something to the rather good-looking, Southernly Doctor.

"I had made the mistake of looking up my family." Her voice had almost quivered, so Charlie took a sip of her drink to try and calm herself.

Bones raises his eyebrows, surprised at her confessing this to him now. He doesn't say anything in response, the words stuck somewhere in his throat, so she continues on.

"It was that night I had pissed you off at dinner, after Kirk had shown me to my new room." Bones looks as if he was going to say something, but ends up closing his mouth, instead taking a long drink from his own glass.

"I had lost both of my parents before...well, before coming here. So I only had my brother really, but even then we weren't that close. I knew that he was definitely dead in this far of the future, but seeing it there on that damn PADD, I kind of just broke down." She blinks slightly as she looks into the glass of light brown liquid, spurned into talking some more by the alcohol currently in her system.

"Then the next morning, you and Kirk were worried about me, and I just took it out on you. Even after you had come to check on me in the middle of the night. I guess that smark little wristband had tracked me crying, right?"

Bones was looking at her in shock now, his eyes wide at the mention of him attempting to come see her whilst she'd been upset.

"How did you-" He begins to ask, but Charlie figures she'll save him the hassle of asking the question, informing him as to how she knew about it.

"Nell told me. Sorry, Nurse Colewell," she corrected herself, before saying, "she had seen you at my door that night."

Charlie hesitantly looked at the Doctor before her, watching as he takes another swift drink. He looked embarrassed at hearing her say all of this, his eyes not meeting hers for a moment. She had thought as to whether to even say anything to him about this, wondering if she could take the words back due to Bones' lack of response.

Just as he began to say something, his eyes intense as he regarded her, a cheery Scottish voice interrupts from behind them, causing them both to jump slightly.

"You alright there lass? McCoy isn't berating you on your choice of drinks, is he?" Scotty appears besides the Doctor, giving Charlie a beaming smile and light hearted chuckle.

She looks between the two men, struggling to hold in her smile for the slightly tipsy Scotsman, especially as he lightly elbows the Doctor in his ribs.

"I've been instructed to come and save our wee new comrade, as well as bring o'er the promised refreshments. Captain's orders." He tells them with a mock salute, grabbing at a vividly luminous blue beverage on the tray that Charlie had wondered what the hell it was.

Scotty then pulled at Charlie's arm in an effort to follow him back over to their table, where Kirk was sat, a coy smile on his face. She could see the younger man named Chekov was at another table to their side, chatting to a familiar looking green-skinned girl, who was giggling away at some inspired speech he appeared to be giving her.

As Charlie was ushered to where the Captain sat, she turned to see Bones hastily finishing the drink in his hand. He then turned on the spot by the bar, flagging the attention of a nearby bartender, motioning at his empty glass.

With her face feeling slightly flushed, Charlie wondered whether she really should slow down with the drinks.


	8. Inclusion

They hadn't stayed much longer at the bar that evening; another round of drinks had pushed at Charlie's limits, although she was feeling pleasantly buzzed. Bones had made some mumbled remark about maybe it being time to call it a night and Kirk had agreed, draining the remnants of his brightly coloured drink.

Charlie had wanted to argue against leaving, but the days events were causing her to stifle a yawn. Reluctantly she walked across Yorktown's Plaza with the two men, her mind a happy fog as a result of the several alcoholic drinks she'd consumed, although she did appreciate the fact that Yorktown looked as beautiful at dusk as it did in the day.

Behind them were several scattered Crew members, happily following their Captain back to the ship, their merry voices ringing clearly in the evening light. Charlie could hear the distinguishable accented tongue of Scotty as he begins to sing one of the songs from his motherland, to which earned him a few cheers from the others.

She felt warm, and though the alcohol was providing a blanket for her as well, Charlie believed it to be at the expense of the Crew currently surrounding her. She welcomed this feeling, wanting to wrap herself in it even more. Letting out out laugh as Scotty came to a dramatic end of his singing, Charlie clapped her hands at his rendition of a song that felt faintly familiar to her.

Kirk was laughing too, his eyes bright and mouth wide as he clapped Scotty on his back. Bones, however, seemed to be a bit more subdued in his celebrations, his eyes seeming tired and almost wary. She couldn't help but look at him as they all continued on their way, wondering what had him so deep in thought.

As Kirk turned to cross a wide set footbridge that continued into an imposing metal structure, Charlie took the opportunity to look out into the vast industrial cavern that seemed to stretch out before them. There, within the metal confines and with several small foot bridges and tunnels attached to it, was the Enterprise.

It was big. No, it was _fucking big_.

She realized, with a sudden jolt and gasp, that she had never seen the ship she had been staying on for the last few days. At least, not from the outside. Charlie didn't even want to call it a ship; the thing was such an impressive sight to behold. It was all sleek metal and shining windows, and it took her breath away.

The only part which had confirmed to Charlie it was the Enterprise was the fact that the large saucer-shaped disc had the ship's name etched across it in bold black letters, illuminated by the lights within the space dock.

So she stared, admittedly her mouth may have been open at this point, until a voice called out her name. Kirk is standing beside her with Bones hovering over his shoulder, a curious look on both of their faces.

"I've just… never seen it from the outside." She explained with an embarrassed smile, turning her eyes back to the beast of a spaceship.

It was in a moment like this, when she was stunned by spectacles outside of her norm, that she was reminded of how vastly different she was to all of them. Before today, it had used to terrify her. But now, seeing the Enterprise there in all of its glory, it didn't taste so bittersweet to be out of her own time and place.

"Aye lassie, she's a real beauty, isn't she?" Scotty was leaning on the railings to her other side, the merriment in his voice reflected in his eyes as he too looks at the ship before them.

"That she is." She replied, her voice low but was sure he'd heard her anyways.

The Captain had, evidenced by him beaming with pride. It reminded Charlie of how some of the guys back home would look at their new cars, but on a much grander scale. She laughed at the thought, the size difference was to an extreme but the notion was still there.

"You're part of her Crew now." He reminds her with a light nudge of her shoulder.

Charlie blinks at his words, the sentiment of belonging to their Crew clung to her like wet clothing, warming her against the slight breeze as they stood on the incline of the Space Stations dock.

"Yes, yes, she's a magnificent beauty Jim. Now how's about we board the damn thing before anyone makes a fool of themselves."

Bones had no sooner uttered those words before one of the Engineering Officers had leaned over the railings slightly further away from where they were stood, proceeding to empty their stomach contents rather noisily.

Charlie looked on in bewilderment, Kirk and Scotty struggled to stifle their laughter, but Bones just rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically. He approached the heaving Crew member, administering him with some stern doctorly advise as he looks back to his Captain with a ' _I bloody told you so'_ look.

"Dinnae be a wee scunner, lad." Scotty says, strolling past his young Engineer and hesitantly giving him a light pat on the back. This action causes the younger man to retch, knuckles white as he holds onto the railings with a grim set expression.

Trying to contain themselves, Scotty and Kirk begin to walk towards the turbo lift that would take them down to their docking station, motioning for Charlie to follow suit.

"Guess those drinks were stronger than somebody thought." She said to the Doctor with a humoured expression, watching him attempt to hide a smirk as he prepares to respond with some snarky comment. Fortunately, he's cut off from doing so as the Crew Member shudders and heaves again, expelling vomit down the railings.

Charlie looks away, feeling queasy at the sight, just as Bones swears heavily under his breath at the situation he had now found himself in. As she begins to walk towards the awaiting lift with the others, something cold creeps over her neck and she feels herself tense automatically.

Glancing around the peninsula, with its lit streets and pathways, Charlie saw that it was void of any other people. She shrugged off the anxiousness that had welled up inside of her as she glanced across the more shadowy parts of the Plaza, coming to the conclusion that the alcohol was playing on her nerves.

Kirk was calling after Charlie as the lift arrived and as she turned around she could see Bones looking her inquisitively, an unasked question in his lips. She brushed off the feeling of paranoia, pushing it to the back of her mind as she joined the others in the lift.

* * *

When she woke the next day, Charlie realized two things.

1\. There was a new uniform hanging on her wall.

2\. Her stomach was growling, _really loudly._

She could hear the footfall of people outside her door, chatting voices reverberated from the corridor walls, causing her to glance at the digital clock display. It was early, around 7am, and with a vague recollection of having a meeting with the Captain and Chief of Security at 8:30, she washed and changed quickly so that she would be able to grab something to eat first.

So...Red.

Charlie regarded her new uniform, curious as to who had placed it in her room. Although she had to admit, she liked the new colour; the deep red didn't make her feel as washed out as the grey shirts had done.

But it wasn't just a uniform, she realised as she gave herself a quick once over in the mirror. It was cementing the sense of belonging she had begun to feel yesterday. It may have been a small motion to make her stay here in the Enterprise feel more confirming, but it felt much bigger to Charlie.

With a quiet affirmation to herself, she pulled her blonde hair back into a long ponytail and ventured out of her room. She knocked on Nell's door, hoping she'd have someone to accompany her for food, but there was no answer. The console to the side of the door informed Charlie that the room was vacant, so she presumed the Nurse must have had an early shift in the Medical Bay.

Entering the ship's Mess Hall, she was struck with a small sense of overwhelming, noticing several people looking at her as she hastily grabbed some food from one of the Replicators. She was about to seat herself at the one of the empty tables nearby when she heard someone call out to her.

Chekov was smiling warmly at her as he sits besides a fair haired man dressed in a red shirt like Charlie's. She barely hesitated joining the two of them, grateful to see a familiar face.

"Good morning Charlie." Chekov says with his accent, beaming at her. "Zis is Lukas, he is part of ze Security Team."

The blonde male stood up and shook her hand at the introduction and Charlie couldn't help but notice his broad shoulders and chiseled jaw. Sitting down, she was mindful that she didn't have much time to eat due to her impending meeting with Kirk and O'Rourke.

Whilst eating her breakfast, Charlie listened to the two guys discussing their antics of last night. It seemed that a fair few of them had stayed a while longer at the bar, no doubt enjoying the company of the female persuasion.

"That is the last time I accept any drinks from Scotty. I swear, the man was trying to ruin my liver." Lukas grimances, no doubt having been subjected to some rather hard liquor by the Scotsman. His accent, Charlie noticed, was British.

"I zought ze English verre supposed to be able to handle zeir drinks." The young Russian said with a sly grin.

"Don't judge us all by his intolerance." Charlie quipped in, feeling more confident than she'd done yesterday. Perhaps it was the new red uniform. "Although it's good to hear a fellow British accent. Whereabouts are you from?"

She honestly appreciated hearing a familiar accent to home, considering the sea of Americans and Aliens she had found onboard. It was like finding a small piece of home in this surreal world.

"London," Lukas smiles in response, "although I guess my version is a lot different to yours."

Charlie wondered what London looked like now; was it similar to something like Yorktown? She was excited at the prospect of seeing it, it blurred out the melancholy she was feeling about remembering her old world.

"I wish I could stay longer, but I have to go and meet Lieutenant O'Rourke." Charlie explains to them, as she finishes her food. Chekov nods at her as she stands and Lukas gives Charlie a warm smile.

"See you around, Cassidy."

* * *

The Chief of Security's Office was completely different to Bones'. It was meticulously clean and organised, nothing out of place or on show apart from a PADD in some kind of dock atop the white desk.

"So, what do you think Charlie?"

She snaps her attention back to Kirk, who sits across from her with an unreadable expression. O'Rourke stands besides him, arms crossed against his broad chest in an authoritative manner, his gaze intense on her.

"You want me to be part of the Security Team?" She reiterates to them, the questionable tone in her voice pointed more to the Captain than to the Lieutenant beside him.

"In a way, yes." Kirk leans forwards, elbows on his knees as he speaks to her. "Seeing as you are now an endorsed Crew Member of the Enterprise, we thought it only fitting to allocate you to a designated area. I believe that the Security Team would be most beneficial for yourself, as well as you for them."

"Lieutenant O'Rourke has high praise for the promising start you've had with him in your sessions. Of course, we'd like to keep any injuries to the absolute minimum. I'm sure Bones would appreciate not seeing you carried into his Medical Bay at every opportunity. You will, however, need to be mindful of the use of your ability with the others."

 _Well this was certainly something_ , she thought to herself.

"What does it entail?" She asks, curious as to what this new position held for her.

She was made to understand that due to her never having set foot on Starfleet Academy, and therefore not being qualified for a wide variety of things, the role was mainly to keep her engaged in some form of routine.

Understandably, she could gain knowledge of Security tactics and be able to prepare herself for entering the Academy, in order to complete her training and therefore become an officially recognised Crew Member.

Charlie processed this information, aware of the two sets of eyes currently set on her. She had to admit that she hadn't quite known what to expect after the Commodore had informed them that she could stay with the Enterprise, but this was certainly a welcomed change. With the Captain telling her this now, Charlie was unable to hide the smile that was appearing on her face.

"I guess I really need to start calling you Captain then, huh?"

* * *

Bones had hardly left the haven of his Sickbay the last 12 hours or so, having been greeted by the sight of a rather rough looking M'Benga and Nurse Colewell. The two damn idiots, it seemed, had stayed behind at that bar in Yorktown for a few more rounds, having apparently forgotten the fact that they were on shift the next morning.

He'd shaken his head at the Nurse as she had trudged in earlier that day, her hair having lost some of its colour and Bones wondered if she somehow looked even paler than usual. M'Benga, however, had practically crawled in a few hours later, his appearance more fragile than the CMO thought possible.

It reminded him that the young Engineering Officer, who he'd managed to escort back to his quarters on the Enterprise last night after making a complete idiot out of himself, had entered his Medical Bay a little over an hour ago. Upon seeing Bones traipsimg around, his face had appeared even more sickly. The lad had retreated out of there quicker than than you could say 'godamn embarrassment'.

He was currently on his 6th cup of coffee, what with it being sometime past midday, and he was about ready to re-open that bottle of hard liquor he had stashed away in his desk. He had received one or two more Crew Members checking in for an analgesic for their head colds, receiving Bones' belligerent manner as he hands them over to his suffering duo.

He had to admit, it was mildly amusing watching the two Medical Attendants squint at the brightness settings in the Medical Bay. He didn't regret turning the brightness up earlier, _at all._

A nagging thought pulls at Bones as he surreptitiously returned back to his dark office, ensuring that the lights were dimmed enough to an acceptable level. He didn't have a hangover, the Doctor was able to hold his fair share of drink, but the dark setting helped with his tired eyes.

He couldn't stop going over Charlie's words from yesterday, as they had stood together at the bar. She had brightened so much in the relaxed setting of a social, but it had momentarily blinkered as she informed him as to the reason of her upset, that night he had gone to her room.

He hadn't thought that she'd have looked up her family on that damned PADD, but now he realised that of course she would have done that. Any sane person would. And the fact that she knew he'd come to see her and then cowardly left, well that was just _fuckin' peachy._

Now Jim had decided to assign Charlie to the damn Security Team. He regretted getting her involved with that gorilla O'Rourke in the first place, the man had more brawn than brain. She wasn't trained enough to be able to compete with any of the Security Crew, the girl was going to become a walking bruise.

Something stirred up inside the Doctor; an anxious feeling that he attempted to push down, but to no avail. So instead Bones angrily pressed at his Coffee Machine, deciding to take the edge off.

 _God damn it,_ he needed a drink.

* * *

Kirk sighed heavily as he looked over the texts before him, as they were displayed mid-air on the monitor.

"Captain, we have excavated as much as we possibly can from this data. Unfortunately the Cardassian's left no trace of their origin in experimentation, nor that of the whereabouts for their various DNA samples." Spock informs his Captain with a weary voice.

He knew that, but Kirk had still asked his Second in Command to go over the data once more, in the hope of finding something buried within the volumes of texts and annotations. Unfortunately, it appeared that their unfruitful attempt was merely agitating him more.

"Those bastards were clever, but not so clever as to wipe all of their Ship's logs. There must be something in here to point us in the right direction. I don't want to let them slip through our fingers again." The Captain ran a hand through his hair, irritated at the possibility of facing a dead end.

His Bajor source was seeming to be useless, having had no contact with them for over 48 hours now. He had hoped to have been able to provide Commodore Paris with something solid and concrete, but he'd failed in his endeavour. He'd managed to hide his disappointment rather well, he thought.

Spock was beginning to share his Captain's disappointment in their lacking amount of substantial evidence. But Kirk still had one trick up his sleeve; he'd heard rumours of some unsavoury contacts with information on the Black Market trade routes. The downside to this new lead is that they were located in and around the Eta Eridani Sector Block, out near the Neutral Zone.

He was in two minds as to whether to inform the Commodore of his intent on warping to the nearest outpost there. His gut was telling him that this would be the best place to start looking but he knew that as soon as they begun asking questions, word would spread about Starfleet Officers in and around the Quadrant.

Taking a large drink of his Fireblend Coffee, after having managed to get some from a store in Yorktown, Kirk was feeling rather bitter about having undocked from there so soon. He was aware that he hadn't given his Crew much time to enjoy their Shore leave. Hell, he hadn't had much time to enjoy it himself.

But he had promised Charlie that he would find the bastards responsible for her capture and experimentation, so he had instructed his Crew to set off back into the depths of Space. He would make it up to them soon enough, he reasoned to himself.

Thinking back to earlier that day, when he had met with Charlie and the great bulking mass that was his Chief of Security, Kirk was certain that he had made the right decision. Though he was surprised as to why Bones had clammed up so much when he'd told him of his plan.

Perhaps his CMO was simply irked at the prospect of letting Charlie become the Security Team's new punching bag? It was known aboard the Enterprise of the Chief's sparring showdowns that he appeared to throw every now and then, as O'Rourke had explained to his Captain that it kept his Team on their toes.

Though Kirk wouldn't have told anyone, he would gladly put money on Charlie being one of the last ones standing in them.

* * *

1…..2…..3…..4…..

Charlie took in deep, measured breaths as she counted the attacks she was managing to block. The guys face was drawn together in a focused expression as he attempted to strike her again, his arms swinging at her sides. Left, right. Left, right.

Mindful that she should not be relying solely on her psionic ability, the Chief had stationed Charlie in Close Combat, a one-on-one training tutorial for her to be able to build up her repertoire for attacking and defensive moves. She had to admit, she was _loving_ it.

The male she was training with had introduced himself as Denx, a member of the Bolian species. He had been selected by O'Rourke to help jump start her training and was now attempting to knock her to the ground with a barrage of attacks. His irregular blue coloured skin had surprised Charlie at first, but she hadn't let it distract her from his strikes and blows.

He wasn't fast, she noted as she lightly back stepped out of another swinging punch. He also wasn't heavy fisted; his thin arms lacked any strenuous muscle. But Charlie wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of knocking her down.

She was the 'new girl', and she'd spent her fair share of time being moved from various Schools back home to know that her first impressions here with the other Security Crew Members would be sharply observed.

So with that in mind and her adrenaline pulsing through her veins, she sent a sharp jabbed punch into Denx's ribs, aiming to knock the wind out of him in one swift motion. He falls to his knees in a gasped response, clutching at his side.

"Sorry! Are you okay?" She apologised to him as he sucked in a lungful of air. He smiles at her, taking her outstretched hand in an offer to get him on his feet.

"You know you don't have to apologize every time you knock me down." He explains to her, smirking.

Charlie gives him a small laugh in return, taking the brief moment to wipe the sweat from the back of her neck with a towel. A bottle of water appears to the side of her vision and she looks to see a familiar blonde haired male offering it to her.

"I thought you might have gone easy on the poor kid. Maybe try to make some new friends?" Lukas is giving her a mocking look.

"What makes you think I need to make friends?" She takes the water anyways, grateful for the quenching of her thirst after her practise. She had to admit, she'd wondered as to how best to approach her new colleagues in the Security Team. She felt as though she had a giant sign above her head, stating ' **Beware.'**

"Maybe you just need to branch out from hanging with the Captain and that bad tempered Doctor?"

Charlie chuckled in spite of herself, noting that Bones could seem to be disarmingly grouchy.

"I know Nell and M'Benga. Also Chekov, he seems like a nice guy." She isn't too sure why she feels the need to defend her social interactions, already limited as they may be.

"The Medical Staff don't count, you practically lived there when you first arrived." He drank a few gulps of water as she watched him, curiously.

He continued, "and Chekov is a nice guy to everyone. That Russian couldn't say a bad word about anyone, even if it meant he'd get a bottle of his motherlands finest from it."

His smirk manages to rub away at some of the irked feelings that were currently pooling inside of her. She hadn't exactly approached everyone in the ship in an effort to make herself known, but that didn't mean she hadn't wanted to get to know the other Crew Members of the Enterprise. Her mind had been a bit preoccupied as of late, which is exactly what she told Lukas.

"Yeah, yeah, you're right. So how's about we go toe-to-toe?"

His question caught her off guard and she studied him with a surprised expression, wondering whether he was serious. He was, it turned out, very serious. He approached O'Rourke as he stood off to the side lines, examining several other Crew Members in their fighting techniques.

After a hesitated moment, and with his eyebrows raised inquisitively, the Chief agreed to the switch in partners. Charlie couldn't help but notice the grateful expression on Denx's face as he was replaced, heading over to where Lukas had been sparring with his partner.

Although Charlie wasn't able to make out a lot of her features, she could see that his partner had been a square jawed girl, her short buzz cut hairstyle making her appear more intimidating.

Lukas was already preparing himself into an attacking stance, a playful smirk on his face as he lightly balls his feet on the added flooring. A twinge of nervous excitement pulled through Charlie as she moved herself into a similar position, shaking the tenseness out of her hands.

"I apologise in advance if I hurt you." He says to her as they face each other, his tone mischievous. She couldn't help but smile, feeling her heartbeat beginning to quicken at the anticipation of their sparring.

"Maybe we should have a safe word, in case things get too much for you." She responds quickly.

With a contained laugh, he lunges at her. His attack is swift and strong but Charlie takes a calculated defense, dropping her body out and away from him as she kicks out with one of her legs. She makes contact with one of Lukas' shins and can hear him hiss in surprise at the touch.

She straightens up, her fists out in front of her, prepared for a preemptive strike from him. Lukas attempts to circle her, his delight in finding that she was more capable than he had previously thought was evident on his face. He makes a sharp jab to her face, his full weight behind his punch, and Charlie dodges to evade his fist.

She dodges and weaves his next few heavy blows aimed at her head and torso, taking her time in responding with an attack of her own. Remembering something that the Chief had told her after the first session with him, Charlie kept her guard up and focused on his techniques and patterns.

He wasn't as easy to read as Denx had been, therefore making it harder to calculate his next moves. She could, however, see that he was putting in a lot more force in his attacks than she could manage to deflect easily without using her ability; her fingertips almost itched at the possibility of conjuring a barrier to meet his quick fists.

She counted in her breaths again, reaching the number 5 before she aimed a kick at his ribs, her foot connecting with his solid mass. He twisted away from her as he shrugs off the tap she had managed to get on him.

Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest as they circled each other, Lukas making a pretended lunge or two in order to make Charlie tense. She smirked as she lightly danced forwards, bringing a kick down upon the side of his knee.

Or at least, she would have done, if his hands hadn't grabbed at her ankle in mid-kick. He was grinning at her now, as he knocked her down to the ground, her back being cushioned by the thick padding.

Gasping in a daze, she looked up to see Lukas standing over her in a mocking victorious pose.

"I guess we should really settle on that safe word. You might need it."

* * *

Several hours later when she crashed out on her bed, after eating dinner and being freshly showered, Charlie smiled to herself. It felt, to her, that she had been on the Enterprise for a lot longer than she actually had, but in a good way.

She felt so vastly different, in herself as well as her current situation. Reflecting on the course her life had taken in these recent days, she couldn't help but realise just how fucking lucky she had been. Not in the fact of her being taken from her home, with her small circle of family and friends. Nor for the traumatising experience she had been through.

No, Charlie felt lucky that she had survived it all. The memory of Bones and Kirk discussing the others that had been subjected to the same treatment, the bodies that they had seized from her captors ship, had stayed with her like a dark cloud.

As she lay there, half in and half out of her covers, she welcomed the ache in her sore body. It was the best kind of ache, like that of a post-gym workout or after fooling around with some guy back home.

It felt good, it felt _human_.

* * *

 **Sorry if this Chapter felt shorter! Will make up for it in the next one :)**


	9. Repress

_Oof_.

The sound escaped her as her back hit the floor, the breath knocked from her in one motion. Rolling herself back onto her feet with an exasperated sigh, Charlie was now well and truly pissed off.

"You're too in your head." Lukas tells her, rolling his shoulders in circular motions.

Although his words were wise and probably true, Charlie couldn't help but scoff at them. This was her second day of training with Lukas, and it was her second day of being put on her fucking ass. She had to admit, the guy was good. He struck her in all of the right places, without leaving her much room to defend or strike back. What pissed her off most was the fact that she hadn't been able to score a point against him so far.

Sure, she knew that he had a ton more experience than she did, having no doubt learnt some tactics from this exclusive Starfleet Academy she'd heard about. But it didn't stop the disappointment she felt at not being able to hold her own against him.

With a grimace, Charlie moves out of the punch that had landed on her hip as she had rotated her body. The sweat from her forehead had started to drip onto her eyes, she hastily wiped at it as she edged around Lukas, scanning for an opening for her attack.

Somewhere behind Lukas, Charlie could see Lieutenant O'Rourke's gaze in their direction, hand beneath his chin in a contemplative manner. She bristled at knowing he was paying attention, having probably seen her be sent flat on her back by Lukas. A flash of colour in front of her jolted Charlie from the distraction, in an instant, her right arm was pulled painfully behind her back as a thicker and muscled arm made its way around her neck.

Gasping in shock from the sudden contact she reflexively pulled at the arm with her free hand, in an attempt to loosen their grip on her throat.

"You're too distracted." Lukas tells her, his breath on her ear.

Charlie would have been intensely aware of the close contact she was in with the brawny Security Officer, had it not been for her lack of breath. Struggling against his hold, she lashed out in an effort to land a kick somewhere on his body as he stands behind her, but this only causes him to tighten his grip on her.

She began to panic at being unable to take in a much-needed breath of air, her mind blank as she realised that she was running out of options. A vague thought of using her ability shot through her but she squashed it quickly; Kirk's advising words for her to limit it ringing in her ears. So she regrettably tapped at Lukas' arm in a signal of defeat, grateful for the immediate lungful of air she was able to take as he removed his hold on her.

"You okay?" He asks her as she doubles over, hands on her knees as she takes in slow and satisfying breaths.

Charlie stood straight and looked upright, to the tall white ceilings of the Physical Recreational Room they were in. Her mind was clear again, but her heart was racing in her chest. She could feel the buzzing of her ability as it simmered beneath her surface, almost as though it were an electrical current, but she had pushed it down and away. Determined to not being solely reliant on the strange power she held, her defense skills were subpar to say the least.

"Again." She tells him, pursuing her lips at yet another loss. Lukas looks at her with feigned dismay, wiping at the sweat on his face with his arm.

"I'm not sure how many times it's going to take for me to kick your ass, until you finally admit defeat." He was chuckling at her now, but Charlie was considering his words.

"When I'm able to wipe that smug look off your face." She smiles at him, feeling the embarrassment begin to slowly ease away.

"There's those fighting words. Come on then!" Lukas exclaims, clapping his hands.

So she does, rushing him in a burst of speed that took even Charlie by surprise, she lands a swift punch to his abdomen which causes him to take an audible sharp intake of breath. With the adrenaline flowing through her, and a victory in her mind's eye, she lunges out of his reach as he attempts to make a grab for her. His eyes were intense and focused as he watches her step away and she was unsure as to whether he was slowing down his attacks due to exhaustion or chivalry in letting her try to gain a win.

Feigning throwing another punch to his stomach, Charlie instead makes a jab aimed at his face, feeling her fist connect with something in a satisfying motion. Taking a preemptive step behind Lukas, Charlie makes a swift decision in how best to take him down, to earn her a score against him.

She reaches one of her slim arms around his neck and the other around his right shoulder so that she could bring him backwards onto the floor. Instead, she feels him instantly tense beneath her attack, surprised as he leans down in an attempt to throw her off of him. To counter this, Charlie tightens her grip on his windpipe, using her other arm to help strengthen her hold, but she can see Lukas' hands reach up to unlock her arms from him.

As she reacts by pulling him backwards towards her, she feels his head hit the bottom of her mouth in a mildly painful jolt. Managing to dig her feet in, Charlie is able to pull Lukas off balance, causing the two of them to hit the padded floor with a _thump_.

Lying there, partially beneath Lukas, she felt winded and drenched in sweat. When Charlie licked at her lips, she could taste the distinct sting of metal. The realisation that her lip was bleeding dawned on her as she felt at her mouth, fingers coming away tinged darkly with red. She dabbed at the injury, feeling a small but relatively nasty gash on her lower lip that was slowly ebbing blood down onto her chin.

Lukas groaned as he sat up, enabling Charlie to be able to bring herself back onto her feet. As she stood and offered a hand to Lukas, a quip of some sort pointed on her tongue, she saw that he too had blood dripping from his face. His nose had beared the brunt of her thrown punch and it was now flowing red steadily down onto his uniform.

"Oh shit!" Charlie started as Lukas took her offered hand, dabbing at his bloodied nose with his shirt as he smirked at her apologising to him.

"Don't be apologising for managing to finally win one against me, Cassidy. Though it looks like I managed to get you as well." He says in a playful tone, pointing to her rather painful split lip.

She let her tongue dance across the cut again, attempting to stem the bleeding, but it was deeper than she had previously first thought. Thank God none of her teeth had been knocked out or damaged, given the force Lukas' head had hit her with. Charlie was attempting to gauge whether his nose was broken, having seen her own fair share of bloody noses back home.

"God damn it Hastings, you're bleeding all over the floor." The booming voice of O'Rourke surprises the two of them as he stands besides Lukas, eyeing up his injury. He then proceeds to cautiously ask, "are the two of you okay?"

Lukas take another wipe at his nose, his wrist coming away with streaks of blood. The Chief passes him a towel so that he is able to stem the bleeding, before he turns his attention to Charlie, giving a quick glance over her sparring injury. He inspects it with a scrutinised expression as she feels another small rivet run down onto her chin.

"You two had better get to the Medical Bay. Can't have that damn McCoy telling me I ain't following procedure."

* * *

Charlie had admittedly hesitated at O'Rourkes instructions to come to the ship's Sick Bay, a flurried thought of what irritated comment Bones would say upon seeing her new injury was churning away at her.

She hadn't seen him since they had spoken at the bar back on Yorktown and embarrassingly, she remembered the heat that had flooded her cheeks when she had stood close to the rather good-looking Southernly Doctor. Now was not the time to be getting any stupid crushes, particularly with any grumpy Medical Staff.

Reiterating this fact to herself, Charlie let Lukas lead the way through the maze of corridors that she was still getting used to navigating. She was aware of people glancing warily at the two of them as they trekked through, bloodied and beaten. She almost laughed at their reactions.

"So I gotta ask, why are you holding yourself back?" His question pulls Charlie's attention towards him and she knits her brows over Lukas' questions.

"I'm not-" But she isn't able to finish her response as he interjects.

"Right, so you're purposely _not_ using your psychic ability in an effort to, what? Go easy on me?" His eyes are lit up in curiosity to her answer.

"It's psionic, not psychic." She informs him, almost flexing her hands as she talks about the ability she's come to hone.

"Yeah, that. Has the Chief said that you're not to use it in Training?"

Charlie wasn't sure if it had been the Chief to request for her to limit her ability, or whether I had been the Captain himself. Although she had briefly wondered in subdued paranoia whether it was due to not wanting anymore accidents like when she'd had her flashbacks.

Before Charlie could consider how to respond to Lukas, they arrived at the familiar set of doors of the Medical Bay.

Lukas wastes no time in entering, both doors opening in one swift move as he strolls inwards. Charlie is a few steps behind him, her gaze nervously scanning the interior of the room which holds one other patient currently being attended to by M'Benga.

The Doctor takes a look at his new attendees, then throws a second look as he notices Charlie standing awkwardly besides Lukas, suddenly aware of her bloodied chin that no doubt looked worse than it actually was. It barely stung now.

"I thought I told you to try and stay clear of here Charlie?" M'Benga says with a chuckle, after determining that she didn't appear to be exhibiting any worrying signs other than her facial injury. She responds with a weak laugh, curious as to where Bones was but didn't dare ask the question aloud.

"Damn Hastings, looks like she gave as good as she got! Take a seat on a Bio Bed you two, I'll be over in a sec." He instructs them, turning to finish on his current patient, who appeared to be a slim female in a blue uniform.

Lukas grunted at the Doctors words, tipping his head back slightly in an effort to lessen the bleeding. Charlie begrudgingly moves towards one of the many unoccupied beds, facing the Doctor and his patient. Lukas takes the one beside her as he regards the brunette being seen to.

"What was it this time Rena?" Lukas asks the woman, who attempts to sit up straighter in order to see him better.

"Some bastard left a vial of Terothka Virus rolling around in the Science Lab, just so happened that I was the lucky one to step on it." From where Charlie sat, she could see the girl rolling her eyes humorously.

"Thank God she isn't showing any symptoms, that thing can cause a nasty rash in Humans." M'Benga almost tuts as he fills a hypospray with some clear liquid.

Charlie doesn't miss the flirtatious wink that Lukas sent to the brunette named Rena, who appeared to be one of the Enterprise's Science Officers. The girl smiled coyly at him, before gasping at the sensation as M'Benga applies the hypospray onto her exposed arm.

"Damn, that's cold." She cried out, laughing at the shock of it.

"You should be fine to get back to the Science Bay, I know how Lieutenant Spock can be." M'Benga begins, adding after a thought, "but if you start to get a fever or stomach cramps, come straight in."

"Be careful about that rash as well!" Lukas shouts after Rena as she reluctantly leaves Sick Bay, glancing back wistfully at him as she exits, a blush evident on her face.

Charlie couldn't help but smile at his playfulness, but regretted it immediately when the action caused her somewhat semi-healed cut on her lip to open again. She winced as she felt a small stream of blood seep out and drip down her chin, she could also taste the copper as some of the blood had crept back into her mouth.

At that moment, however, the door to the CMO's Office swishes open to reveal a groggy and pissed off looking Bones. He was running a hand through his dishevelled dark hair as he surveys them all in the Medical Bay; his attention caught briefly by Charlie as she sits upon the Bio Bed, her legs dangling off the side.

"Who the hell is shouting in my damn Sick Bay?" His voice is course and judging by his appearance, Charlie would have guessed that the Doctor had been asleep in his Office next door.

Lukas immediately pulls a guilty face at being the reason the CMO was now stood before them with a heavy scowl. He didn't need to say anything in admission, Bones was already giving him a steely glare as he steps towards the two of them.

"I'm fine to do these McCoy, if you wanted to go to your quarters and catch up on some sleep?" M'Benga says to his Senior Officer, no doubt irritated at Lukas for waking him as much as Lukas himself was.

Bones simply scoffs at his colleagues statement, mumbling something about how he wouldn't be able to get much sleep there anyways. He runs a quick glance over to the of them as they sat on the beds, Charlie felt too aware of how small her injury must seem compared to Lukas' probable broken nose.

"What in God's name has happened to you now?" He asks Charlie, and she stills upon the direct question from him.

She couldn't help herself from licking her lower lip as she readies herself to respond, instead she swipes over the now stinging cut which had been reopened.

"You know what, don't bother. I'm just going to assume you gave this loudmouth here what was coming to him." Bones sighs wearily as he approaches Charlie where she sits on the bed.

She couldn't help the small smile that threatened to appear on her face at his smart tone, which earned her an audible _tsk_ from the particularly grizzled Doctor as another small bit of blood escapes her damaged lip.

"You shouldn't tilt your head back with a nose bleed." M'Benga scolds Lukas as he gently pulls his head forward, causing a trickle of blood to run down over his lips.

"I suppose we'd best get you cleaned up." He gives her a withered look as he goes and gets a small, clear medical case from the cabinet.

"Here's one for Officer Loudmouth over here." Bones hands M'Benga a hypospray with a vial of light grey liquid.

He then proceeds to withdraw a device from the medical case that looks strangely like a small pocket-sized pistol, it's dark grey exterior not looking enticing at all. Bones notices Charlie's hesitated gaze on the device as he stands before her sat on the bed.

"It may look dangerous but I can assure you that this little device can only be set to heal cuts, not shoot your damn head off." He almost laughs as he explains to Charlie that it is called a Dermal Regenerator. He also said that if she sat still for once, he would be able to close up the large split in her lower lip.

She watches him intensely as he directs the devices towards her mouth, a second passes as he switches it on and a red stream of light emits from it. The sensation felt strange and foreign but Charlie barely had any time to consider it before it was switched off again. She wasn't sure whether it had been an unpleasant experience, likening it to feeling a vibrating motion on her skin.

When she reached up to inspect her injury she was greeted with a healed bottom lip, she could feel no cut or even sign of a scar. She did however, have several trails of blood down to her chin from where she had let the blood flow.

As Bones replaces the device back into his Medical Kit, Charlie was able to see M'Benga scanning Lukas' face, who sits there with a bored expression.

"Well, at least she didn't break it." M'Benga tells Lukas with a wry smile.

"Certainly felt like she had." He responds, making a face.

Charlie saw the CMO smile weakly at the comment, but she watched as M'Benga used the hypospray at close range on Lukas' nose in an effort to heal his injury with a coagulant. The Security Officer visibly flinches at the strange sensation he must be feeling as the Doctor finishes by using using few sterile wipes to clean the blood away.

"So, dare we ask who won?" M'Benga asks playfully as he cleans up Lukas' face.

Charlie didn't answer the question as Bones had pulled out some antiseptic wipes from his Kit and had begun to carefully clean at her bloodied mouth and chin.

She was instantly aware of how close he now was to her at this point, she was positive that he must be able to hear her steadily inclining heart rate. It also dawned on her as to the intimate act of him cleaning her face, though it didn't look so intimate as she watched M'Benga doing the same thing to Lukas. She tried to tell herself to simmer down, not wanting to appear flustered to the already irritable Doctor.

"I'll let Charlie have this point." Lukas looks over to her as he smirks, before continuing, "but I had been kicking her ass in the several rounds beforehand."

Her smile wavers when she catches Bones' gaze, who had briefly hesitated in the midst of getting another cleansing wipe. She wasn't sure why he looked so concerned, he had seen her at a lot worse.

Charlie wondered whether he was overworked and tired, but held back on asking him out right. Instead, Bones continues to wipe the blood from just below her chin, beginning down to her throat. _Damn, it had really bled._

"You're all done." He says with a swift tone, disposing of the bloodied wipes and putting the Medical equipment away.

She watches Bones as he walks away, not sure whether he looked as though he was going to say something else to her, maybe a sarcastic one liner or further admonishment for getting injured. But instead he lets her know that she can leave, retreating back into his Office.

M'Benga informs Lukas that he too was free to go and the pair of them exit the Medical Bay, realising that it was too late to go back to the sparring session as it would be ending shortly.

"So how's about a victory drink? I know a few of the Science Officers who are able to hack the replicators in one of the Rec Rooms." There goes that mischievous smirk again, Charlie noted, as the two of them stood out in the corridor. She vaguely remembered Nell stating something along the same lines.

She was grateful for the invitation, and any other time she would happily join him, but she felt a slight headache coming on from the days excitement. Honestly, nothing would make her happier than grabbing some food and having a quiet evening, she might even venture back onto her PADD for a light reading session.

So that is exactly what Charlie tells him, to which he shrugs at her choice of evening and heads off in the direction of the turbo lifts. She watches him walk off, until he is out of eyesight altogether, where she then turns on her heel and heads off back to her own room.

* * *

Bones hadn't appreciated the brief conversation as much as the ape-like Chief of Security had, though he'd stated that it was merely just to inform him that his Officer's injuries were all healed.

A small part of him, however, had been curious as to how Charlie had been getting on with the vigilant training the Team were regularly being put through. He hadn't wanted to ask Jim, knowing that his Captain may read too much into it for the CMO's liking; he'd already been giving the Doctor a calculatative smirk every time Charlie's name was mentioned.

O'Rourke had grunted at Bones, who had barely managed to catch him as he was leaving the Security Recreational Rooms.

"She's a good little fighter, that one, considering she's Human and...you know, not from around these parts." The Chief considered for a moment, before he spoke again.

"I was worried about her losing control of her ability, but so far she hasn't been using it in her sessions. I didn't want to pull her up on it, just figured she was wanting to gain more experience in hand to hand combat."

Thinking over this, Bones begrudgingly thanks the Lieutenant and leaves him standing there with a perplexed expression in his face. He heads down to the ship's canteen, his stomach practically empty bar the onslaught of coffee he'd had in order to cope through the last 24 hours.

As he grabs some food and sits at one of the empty tables, he savoured the noise and bustle surrounding him. Sometimes it was easier to forget he was on a damn tin can, flying around god knows where in Space. Other times, it wasn't.

His mind rolls back to when he'd found Charlie in the Medical Bay, yet again. Part of him wondered whether he should give the girl some kind of loyalty card for her many trips there. Another part of him was still simmering over the sight of seeing her lightly beaten and bloodied. Damn that Hastings kid, the bastard was lucky that Bones hadn't been the one treating him.

Of course he'd known that she would be getting into scraps, more so now that she was stationed with the Security Team for her time remaining on board the Enterprise, but it was still an unfortunate sight to see Charlie in any pain. Bones told himself that it was due to having carried her from the restraints on the Cardassian ship, to the safety of their own. Certainly not for any other reason.

Mindlessly eating at the now lukewarm meal before him, Bones couldn't help but notice that there seemed to be a face missing from the Canteen. He could see Nurse Colewell on a table with an Orion girl, the two of them giggling into their half eaten dinners. He also saw the irritatingly familiar face of Officer Hastings currently sat with several Science Officers, their heads drawn close as they talked across the table to each other.

Should he be concerned that Charlie didn't appear to be here? He only knew the limited friendships she had managed to grow since coming aboard this ship, but he still imagined that she would have been sat at either table of her new associates.

A niggling thought seemed to break through the surface, one that he couldn't seem to shake away. With no appetite to finish, he cleared up and left the Canteen just as quickly as he had entered, already caught in two minds as to whether or not check in on her.

He told himself that he was simply going to check that she was being shown as in her living quarters, not to actually intrude on her evening. Bones was considering it as a follow up visit from her earlier visit to Sick Bay, though he knew no one would believe him if he'd reasoned it as just that.

Which is why upon finding himself at Charlie's door, and seeing that it had her listed as being inside, he gave a tentative knock.

* * *

Charlie had thought it may have been Nell, coming to check on her again after she had eaten. Or perhaps she'd thought it might have been Lukas in a last ditch attempt for her to join him for replicated alcoholic drinks. What she hadn't expected, however, was Bones.

"Oh...hi." She says, rather lamely, regarding him with mild surprise.

She was grateful that she hadn't yet showered and changed, considering the sudden appearance of her guest. Who was looking particularly out of place as he stood before her, a strange expression on his face as though he wasn't quite sure why he was there either.

"I saw Nurse Colewell and that Hastings kid in the Canteen, I wondered why you weren't with them? I was just on my way back to my own room and thought I'd check in on you…"

He kind of trailed off as he watched two Officers walk past to their own rooms, Charlie didn't think twice as she asked if he wanted to come inside. The look on Bones' face was enough to make her instantly regret asking, sure that she was appearing more flustered to him now. He then surprises her by hesitantly saying yes and she steps backwards in an effort to welcome him inside.

"So are you going to tell me why you're really here?" She asks him as she sits down on her bed, all too aware of how surreal it seemed to have him in her room.

She was briefly reminded that he'd been in here before, when he and Kirk had barged in as she has been half naked. The memory itself makes Charlie blush and she hopes to fucking God that he didn't notice.

Bones hovers awkwardly before her, deciding to seat himself on the desk chair that came part of her room, leaning his elbows on his knees. His gaze were cautious as he looked at her and she was filled with a quiet sense of dread, wondering what she could have possibly done to warrant a home visit like this.

"How's about telling me why you're so intent on not using your ability in Training?"

His question caught Charlie off guard, a perplexed expression crosses on her face as she considers his words. He was looking at her now with curiosity, rubbing at the five o'clock shadow he seemed to have accrued. Not that it didn't look good on him; _it really did_.

"I'm not, I just…" But she couldn't find the words to finish her sentence, so it hung in mid-air, fill I the empty space between them.

"Is it because you're worried about hurting someone darlin'? Because honestly, a few of those Security Officers could stand to be taken down a peg or two." He gave her a wry smile.

"I thought the Captain wanted me to limit the use of my ability...probably because of what happened in my training with Lieutenant O'Rourke." Charlie's gaze was on her hands in her lap, all too aware of the memory playing on her mind. Bones leans back on the desk chair as he thinks over her statement, his eye narrowing slightly.

"Sweetheart, I think he said that you should be mindful of it with the other Officers, not to damn well cut it out altogether."

She looks directly at him then, his unnerving gaze on her makes her look to the ground after a second or so. A thought passes through her mind in a slow realisation at his reassuring words.

"You weren't there when Kirk had told me, so how do you know exactly what he'd said?"

As she speaks, she can see Bones shifting uncomfortably in the chair, a practised nonchalant expression on his face. As he leans forwards he absentmindedly scratches the back of his head, a somewhat telltale sign of his guilt.

"Jim may or may not have talked with me about his plan to place you with the Security Team."

His admission made Charlie wonder what choice words Bones had said to the Captain in response to his plans. Considering how irritable he had seemed with her sustaining a minor injury from tactical training, she gathered the CMO hadn't been entirely happy with the idea.

"...but what if I have one of those flashes again? I could end up hurting someone." Charlie manages to say, concerned guilt woven through her tone like wool.

"There's no straight fixin' for the trauma you've been through kid, it'll take time for your mind to heal from what those Cardassian bastards did to you." He explains, his Southern tone soothing as he adds, "but if the Security Training is helping you in any way, you'd better goddamn believe that you're gonna continue it. And like it or not, that ability is now a part of you. So stop giving a shit about what everyone else will say and get on with it. Show 'em what you're made off."

For a moment, she wasn't sure what to say. His reassurance had taken her aback in his bluntness, but it warmed her all the same and she was grateful for it.

"Even if it means you might see more of me in Sick Bay than you'd like?" She smiled wryly at him.

"Darlin', I'd be happy not to see you in there at all but I know that ain't gonna happen, considering your track record so far."

Charlie's smile hesitates briefly on her lips as she mulls over what he had said and she hoped that Bones hadn't noticed her faltering. The Doctor, it seemed, hadn't noticed. Or at least he pretended that he hadn't as he glanced cautiously at the time displayed on the small digital display in her room.

"I reckon you must be tired from having your ass kicked by that Hastings kid, I should probably get going." He gives her a small apologetic smile along with his sarc comment, as he stands and makes his way to her door. She stands as well, feeling suddenly strangely awkward as the two of them look at each other with sheepish expression.

"Thank you." Charlie says simply, as Bones hovers in the doorway. He gives her a firm nod before he leaves, retreating down the end of the corridor towards the Commanding Officers living quarters.

She felt a weight appear to roll off her shoulders as Charlie sat back down on her bed, PADD in hand, as it remained at the page she had left it on before Bones' interruption. She had been reading up on some more of Stafleet's history, having got up to a section in regards to a Battle of the Binary Stars.

Rather irritatingly, Charlie realised that she had been reading the same sentence over and over again for a while now. Her mind apparently suffering from lack of concentration, she switched off the PADD's display and leans her head back against the wall of her room.

As she breathes out a slowly measured breath, she swears she could hear the faintest humming as she begin to think of the psionic power beneath her skin. With a push of her wrist, Charlie creates a barrier that encases the PADD on the bed, the familiar haze was an odd comfort to her now. Though she hadn't used it for the past two days, it flooded back to her with a warmth she wasn't prepared for.

A smile crept onto Charkies face as she thought on Bones' words, her gaze encapsulated by the force she was managing to create. She held it there, mindful of the slight strain in her wrist after a few minutes had passed. After it had dissipated, Charlie felt the tingled pulse in her hands and it was a pleasant feeling.

She conjured a barrier again, this time on the desk chair currently sat skewed in her room and it shone at her brightly as she flexed a nerve. Her smile broadened into a beam as she played with the ability, so much so that Charlie could feel it reaching into her bones.


End file.
